“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1–2, HCSB) In the beginning, Jesus was. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, existed eternally together in perfect community and harmony. The eternality of Jesus is an essential part of the life of Jesus. Ash Wednesday represents the fact that people need to repent from sin. This sin which separates us... Read more
Lenten Series: Jesus ______________ Lenten Series: Jesus ______________ is a series of reflections for Lent that explore the ways Jesus interacts with us. As a Baptist, I have never been taught to celebrate Lent. I have preached a series for Advent, and I have been involved in “40 Days” emphasis during the spring. However, I have never actually observed Lent. I know that it involved fasting so that you can concentrate on Christ. So my thought this year would be... Read more
The Emotional Jesus John 11:32-43 Emotions reveal our true character. In this story, we see Jesus reveal His true human character. How Jesus reacts to human situations reveals how much He cares for us. In this case, Jesus revealed four different emotions. The context was the death of a friend – Lazarus. Jesus was coming to town and He decided to wait. Because He waited, Lazarus died. We don’t know why Lazarus died, but we do know that the death... Read more
The Dude’s Guide to Manhood by Darrin Patrick Darrin Patrick has written a book for manly men. He shares in each chapter how men can become (1) determined, (2) coachable, (3) disciplined, (4) working, (5) content, (6) devoted, (7) family-oriented, (8) connected, (9) emotional, (10) fighting, (11) heroic, and (12) forgiven. The foreword was written by both Willie Robertson, and Steven Jackson. As the title graphic reveals, this book is following on the coat-tails of the popularity of the... Read more
Disciplines of Christian Leadership Disciples of Christian Leadership is a sermon from Exodus 24:12-18 which shares five disciplines of Christian leadership. This passage seems like a simple story of a man who leaves his people to have a mountain-top experience with God. The reality is that this passage is filled with disciplines for leadership. Leadership is a discipline. There are some people who believe that only a few gifted individuals can be leaders. However, I disagree. I believe that everyone... Read more
What Did Jesus Really Look Like? What Did Jesus Really Look Like? is a simple thought culture watch reflection that tries to see what Jesus would really look like. There is a new trend on Twitter – #HotJesus. It comes from the fact that the new movie Son of God (which is produced by the same people who did The Bible series on the History Channel last year) has a person (Diogo Morgado) playing Jesus who looks attractive. Some think it... Read more
Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman This particular book was a valuable addition to the voices challenging the church to engage and reach the culture. The authors have separate definition for missions and evangelism (3). They also suggest that missions should be viewed in what they call a “glocal” (a mixture of global and local) context. In this view, missions is something in the twenty-first century that can be done locally. With the technology available,... Read more
The premise of this book is that lost people matter to God and He wants partners in the search party. However, it has been difficult for churches to continue their effort in engaging the lost. The book begins with a helpful illustration of the “boxes” we live in, and how to start “thinking outside the box.” God is responsible for changing people. However, He expects us to partner with Him. The world has changed (from modernism to post-modernism) and this... Read more
Churches with Roots by Johan Lukasse This reviewer has found this book, Churches with Roots: Planting Churches in Post-Christian Europe, very helpful. Many of the insights gained from this book matched the reviewer’s experience as a pastor of an English-speaking church in Germany. At many points, this reviewer found himself nodding in agreement. Yet, there were many new insights that were informative and helpful. The book begins with an assessment of the spiritual state of Europe. The author stated... Read more
How Did They Do It by Charles S. Kelley Jr. How Did They Do It by Charles S. Kelley Jr. is a Christian book review on the story of the Southern Baptists, in which he shares how Southern Baptists used evangelism effectively to grow their denomination. This book was more helpful to me than I had expected. The author took great lengths to explain the history of evangelism in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). His description of the way... Read more
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