Learning to Thrive in This Life by Trusting God “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13, CSB) Perhaps you are familiar with the “Trust Fall.” This is an exercise in which you set up two lines of people parallel to one another. One person stands on a stump and falls back. As they fall, the first people in the line catch the person. They move... Read more
Learning to Share You connect as a Christian by belonging Jesus. God helps you work out your salvation by first introducing you to Jesus who saves you. That happens as the Holy Spirit leads you to someone who knows Jesus. “Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12, CSB) The first way to be... Read more
Jesus Christ SuperSTAR In Andrew Lloyd Webber’s interpretation of the Gospel account, Jesus is considered a Superstar. Some of you may watch a version of his play this Easter which is entitled Jesus Christ Superstar. Today I begin a new series entitled “How to Be a Christian STAR.” I want to give you an overview of how to be a STAR. To be a star in life, we need to look to Jesus. I am beginning this series on Easter... Read more
The Power of True Christian Love Song of Solomon 8:6-7 If love is as strong as death, then in Christ, love is more powerful than death. “Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames — the fiercest of all. Mighty waters cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give... Read more
Dr. Frank Page has resigned because of a “morally inappropriate” relationship. Dr. Page initially announced his retirement as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. Later, in the day, he announced his resignation. This resignation would be effective immediately. The explanation was for a “morally inappropriate” relationship. Dr. Page was President of the SBC from 2008-2009. He was also a steady helpful figure during the Conservative Resurgence. Page initially announced a retirement. He later clarified... Read more
Introduction In his book Hope for the Troubled Heart, Rev. Billy Graham wrote1: “True prayer is a way of life, not just for use in cases of emergency. Make it a habit, and when the need arises you will be in practice.” A woman as in labor with her first baby and was experiencing much pain and anguish. That is natural for being in labor. The problem was that the pain wasn’t producing a delivery. The idea is that the... Read more
You remember The People’s Court, Night Court, Judge Judy. Law and Order. Shows that revealed how our system of justice and judgment work. That is what Jesus is describing here in the first two verses of Luke 17. WORLD SYSTEM OF JUDGMENT (LAW AND ORDER) (Luke 17:1-2) In the world’s system of judgment, we have what we call law and order. In that, I mean that if someone offends another, then there is a punishment for the crime. Here, Jesus gives... Read more
1. Pray (Luke 10:1-2) “After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:1–2, CSB) The reality is that there will always be more lost people than Christians who want to share the... Read more
1. Some oppose the Gospel because they are JEALOUS (Mark 6:14-16) “King Herod heard about it, because Jesus’s name had become well known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers are at work in him.” But others said, “He’s Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.” When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, the one I beheaded, has been raised!”” (Mark 6:14–16,... Read more
Revision as a Spiritual Discipline I have always believed that writing was a spiritual discipline. This book Living Revision, confirms my belief. Andrew has written a book that shows how writing can be a spiritual discipline. Andrew uses the language of faith to help writers. The writer doesn’t make the story. The story makes the writer. Therefore, the writer is a disciple of the story. The writer-disciple is encouraged to write as if it were a lifestyle or faith. Writing... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In