Church should be fun. It really should. Now wait, all you coffee-shop-theologians, before you start questioning my salvation. I didn’t say that church should be watered down. I didn’t say that church should be a conviction-free zone. What I’m saying is that when we make church boring, we do an incredible disservice to the transforming power of the gospel. Whether you agree with me or not, here’s one family that’s been changed because Mt Vernon (the church I serve) refuses... Read more
When we’re hurt, we get angry. When we’re angry, we can get bitter. When we get bitter, we can see our lives destroyed. Monday we talked about how to break the power of unforgiveness in your life. Today I want to talk about what you’re really saying when you forgive. When we’re hurt deeply by others, we get angry because we feel like they (whoever “they” is) owe us something: they owe us a childhood, they owe us being there... Read more
This past Sunday at Mt Vernon Church we talked about taking the next step of forgiveness. When you know you need to forgive but you don’t know how, here’s a way to move forward: HOW TO BREAK THE POWER OF UNFORGIVENESS IN YOUR LIFE 1. Be forgiven yourself. You can’t give what you don’t have. If you aren’t forgiven yourself, then you can’t show Christ’s forgiveness to others. You may have been running from God for years. Maybe it’s time... Read more
I’m speaking as a husband, married for eleven years. I’m speaking as a pastor who’s seen and counseled scores of marriages; some that made it, some that didn’t. The only complaint I get about the percentage is that it’s too low. Here’s the simple (but not easy) way to eliminate 85% of marriage fights: take care of your money issues. That’s it. If you’re married, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The number one thing that couples fight about... Read more
Here’s a reason that we don’t bring friends to church, one that we don’t talk about and will never admit to our pastors: our church is weird. It’s okay, I can say that. I’m a church person. I’ve grown up in church. I’ve been a part of some weird churches. They’re fine for you because you’re used to it, but you love your friends too much to expose them to it. It’s like taking your friends to a family reunion.... Read more
Let’s be honest: most Christians don’t share their faith. We say it’s important, we feel it’s important, but we don’t do it. Here are seven reasons why: 1. We feel unqualified. Many of us feel like we don’t know enough Bible to share our faith. What if they ask us a question that we don’t know the answer to? We’re still trying to figure Christianity out, so there’s no way we can explain it to someone else. Maybe it’s not... Read more
Back in high school I went through a Bible study (a few times) called “Experiencing God” that helped inform a critical question for many of us: how does God speak to us? On Wednesday I talked about the fact that following Jesus is as simple as identifying and taking the next step. But how do you identify the next step? God will tell you what that is? How does God speak to you? That’s what I want to talk about... Read more
Sometimes we think we know something to the point that we ignore the basic instructions. A few weeks ago I was putting together a trampoline for my boys as a Christmas present. Since I’d done this thing a couple of times before, I regarded the directions as optional. Bad mistake. After spending a few painstaking hours setting up the frame and pulling ninety-six springs nice and taut, I was finished other than attaching the safety net. With the last trampoline,... Read more
In life, we keep looking for finish lines, places where we can sit and rest. But the goal line keeps moving. In reality, life isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. Finish lines are really just mile markers along the pathway of life. Yet how many of us make this mistake with our Christian faith? We think that once we pray a prayer, walk an aisle, sign a card and vote ‘yes’ for Jesus, then we’re good? We’ve crossed the... Read more
God’s Double Agent is a harrowing true life tale that reads more like a James Bond thriller than a run-of-the-mill biography. Xiqui Fu (his English name is Bob) was born into poverty in rural China. Raised in the cloak of Communism, Fu’s life gives an incredibly stark picture of life in rural Communist China. Food shortages, endemic poverty, oppression by the government, all in the name of the greater good. Fu learned early on that his only path to a... Read more
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