Relationships can get strained and twisted and even broken. But a wrecked relationship is ripe for reconciliation. A reconciling community is one that creates an environment that anticipates reconnection and healing—the expectation that things can be put back right....
It has always been the mission of the church to grow. Jesus told His disciples that they were to go the ends of the earth making disciples and inviting people to become part of the community of faith. This is an incredible calling, but it is also challenging. Growing...
We have been talking about community a lot lately. But what does community look like to you? Can we even see the community around us or have we become so tuned in to our day-to-day duties that we are missing the opportunity for genuine community? Possibly, even worse,...
We can be individuals to a fault—independent and self-sufficient, never needing anything from anyone and never giving anything to anyone. But we were created by God to function in community with others. You can surround yourself with people who, with you, can make a...
It’s a sad story when something starts well and ends poorly. God had picked a people for Himself. They started well with a unified purpose and calling. But soon division threatened to destroy what God was building. Not only was the kingdom divided but worse yet, they...
No one wants to talk about prejudice. It’s an extremely uncomfortable topic and we tend to try to protect ourselves from it by avoiding the subject entirely or only considering extreme instances. The truth is that each of us has prejudices that have resulted from our...
The good news about Jesus is that He came so that we might have life and have it to the fullest. An offer this amazing can easily seem too good to be true. It is completely understandable that someone would be skeptical or want to reserve judgement. But when we...
The life-changing hope of the good news about Jesus is too important to make muddy. We owe it to ourselves to be clear about this simple message of salvation. You have a story to tell. But your story can take others only so far. Sooner or later, you’ll need to know...
We’ve all felt its stinging effects. And we’ve all wielded its destructive sword. Judgment. Jesus plainly tells us not to judge others. What does He mean by that? Dig a little deeper into the Scriptures and you’ll discover a strange twist: We’re actually encouraged to...
Would you agree that what others think about us has a pretty strong effect on how we see ourselves? Then, how we view ourselves determines how we view life, how we will interpret our circumstances and how we interact with everyone around us. The problem is, we usually...
We live in a world that tells us that if we get hit, we’ve got to hit back harder. That it’s okay to be disrespectful if we’ve been disrespected. That somehow the right response is to fight fire with fire, return insult for insult, and hurt those who have hurt us. And...
One of the basic fundamentals of a team sport is that you play like a team. The likelihood of victory increases when each team member works together to contribute the very best possible. Nowhere is teamwork more essential than in the body of Christ. Because we’re on...