How Not to Respond to Terrorist Attacks

Last updated on: December 3, 2015 at 2:56 pm By Scott Slayton

Since September 11, 2001 Americans have lived with the realization that people in this world want to kill us. They detest our government and its policies, so instead of exercising futility by attacking our military forces they target civilians. Attackers in Paris reawakened this reality when they murdered 167 people in a coordinated attack. Many also suspect terrorist activity might be behind the San Bernadino shootings which took place yesterday, triggering a new wave of fears. As Christians think about... Read more

When Fear Overwhelms

Last updated on: December 1, 2015 at 9:47 am By Scott Slayton

Many of us overcame our childhood fears only to realize the fears of adulthood are much more real. The uncertainty involved with relationships, jobs, children, and finances steal many hours of sleep from us. We envision worst case scenarios or instances where our current circumstances never improve and then we find fear knocking on our doors. Thankfully the Bible acknowledges the reality of our fears and shows how men and women of old faced and conquered their fears. In particular... Read more

A Few Good Reads

Last updated on: November 27, 2015 at 1:23 pm By Scott Slayton

“What Isis Really Wants“ Graeme Wood wrote this important long form piece for The Atlantic in March. With the renewed focus on Isis in light of the Paris attacks, we need to understand who they are and what they want to accomplish. “The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for... Read more

Three Mistakes for Fathers to Avoid

Last updated on: November 24, 2015 at 11:05 am By Scott Slayton

Not Walking with Jesus Men face many enemies in the quest to raise our children and greatest enemy stares back at us in the mirror every morning. Our own personal sin and selfishness wars against us. We wrestle with the temptation to either pamper our children our neglect them. We waver back and forth between permissiveness and control. Our children ask for more of our time but we struggle to give it to them because our face is buried in... Read more

A Few Good Reads

Last updated on: November 13, 2015 at 7:54 am By Scott Slayton

“The System I Use for Long Term Scripture Memorization“ “I have hidden your words in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The Psalmist’s words from Psalm 119 remind us of the necessity of storing away God’s word in our minds and hearts. While we live in an age avert to rote memorization, it is still the best way to remember God’s word. Chris Brauns shares his system for long term memorization and the person devoting themselves to... Read more

Parents, Keep a Cool Head

Last updated on: November 11, 2015 at 3:59 pm By Scott Slayton

“Parenting is hard.” This sentence comes to my mind multiple times a week. We have four children ten and under, so we devote large portions of our day to playing, reading, teaching, correcting, consoling, and managing conflict. While few things in my life bring me as much joy as parenting, it can also be the source of some of my greatest difficulties. (In fact I took a break about 100 words into the post to play in a blanket fort.... Read more

A Few Good Reads

Last updated on: November 7, 2015 at 3:41 pm By Scott Slayton

“The Power of Conversation: A Lesson from CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien“ If you read these posts regularly you know how much I enjoy and benefit from the posts on The Art of Manliness. This post on the conversations between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien may be my favorite thing they have written so far. In an age where we spend little time thinking about friendship and are more connected while being more disconnected than ever, we need to hear... Read more

David and God’s Grace

Last updated on: November 6, 2015 at 9:43 am By Scott Slayton

(We are currently in a series on the life of David at Chelsea Village. As I’ve written before I attempt to write a full manuscript of my sermon before preaching. Throughout this series I’ll be posting some of the sermons I think will be helpful. If you would rather listen to the sermon, you can find it here.) This past week I had been reading 1776 by David McCullough which tells the story of the events surrounding the American Revolution... Read more

How to Preach in an Age of Sporadic Attendance Patterns

Last updated on: November 4, 2015 at 6:00 am By Scott Slayton

Recently many have noted the decline in overall church attendance. Fewer people attend church on an average Sunday, but recently observers started noting one of the underlying causes behind this phenomenon. Many Christians attend their church’s worship gathering less frequently than they did before. Because of other commitments or a lack of desire to be with God’s people, the average church goer attends less than they did ten years ago. Even churches adding new people regularly may see a decline... Read more

A Few Good Reads

Last updated on: November 2, 2015 at 9:38 am By Scott Slayton

“What I Came to Respect Most About Tim Keller (Even More Than His Preaching)“ Scott Sauls’ post does not necessarily focus on Tim Keller, but on our culture’s propensity to shame people. He offers several examples of cultural shaming and reminds us how the Gospel takes away our shame. Then he does talk about how Keller responded to people and events with grace instead of shame. What he says has many implications for our various relationships. “Because Jesus shields us... Read more