“LOVE” MAY BE THE DOWNFALL OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH “Love” may be the downfall of the American Church. What? I thought Jesus said in John 13:35, “They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” He did. We live in a day and age when the word “love” means one thing in church and a different thing in the Bible. For us today the growing trend in the church is… Read more
What does the Bible have to say about Homosexuality being a sin? Compromising God’s Word or Condemning homosexuals…could there be a third option? What does the Bible have to say about homosexuality? The spring of 2004 was full and weighty when I was invited with a group of local pastors to a pastors’ breakfast at Focus on the Family. The head of a pro-gay activist group was coming to town and demanded a meeting with Dr. Dobson, the founder of… Read more
EUGENE PETERSON, THE MESSAGE BIBLE, AND HOMOSEXUALITY I had the pleasure of meeting Eugene and Jan Peterson in the later years of their lives at The Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs, the headquarters for the Navigators. I was invited by my friend Don Pape, who at the time was the Senior Acquisitions Editor for NavPress. I, along with about forty or so other Christians leaders from across the United States, got to hear from Eugene and Jan, ask them… Read more
This season has given us all time to relive the story of our lives and especially the relationships of our lives that are broken. It caused us to take relational inventory. If you are anything like me, this created some incredible tension and anxiety inside of you regarding the lackluster of some of the relationships of your life. Maybe you leaned in trying to make it better. Maybe you leaned out not knowing how to make it better. Maybe… Read more
COURAGEOUS INTERCESSION FOR THE UNREPENTANT God want us to be heartbroken over the sin of others in our lives who claim His name but refuse to repent. He calls us to intercede on their behalf. He calls us to stand in the gap and do for them what they are not even willing to do for themselves. One of the most loving things you can ever do for an unrepentant person is to pray for their… Read more
CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEART FOR GOD King David had a heart for God. No, he wasn’t perfect by any means. But he loved God and pursued God with his heart. He had a heart for God. How about you? Do you want a heart for God? Do you want to chase after God with the desires, hopes, dreams, and aspirations of your heart? “What are the characteristics of a person’s life who seeks after God’s heart?” The prophet Samuel describes… Read more
COURAGEOUS CONFRONTATION Someone once said, “One of the greatest tests of a person’s character is how they handle someone else’s sin in the public arena.” If you walk with the Lord long enough, there will come a time when you have to confront someone else’s sin, possibly in the public arena. The Bible is very clear both in the New Testament in Galatians 6 and in the Old Testament in the book of Jeremiah, that we have… Read more
TRUST THE SCIENCE “Trust the science.” This is the new buzz phrase for encouraging people to get the covid 19 vaccination. Regardless of where you fall on getting the covid vaccine or not, I want to unpack the phrase, “Trust the science.” What does it mean to trust the science? The ad campaigns for the covid 19 vacinnes tell us that science tells us that the covid vaccine is safe, secure, and reliable. I think what… Read more
CHURCH HUSH MONEY: “For The Sake Of The Gospel, Really?” What is hush money? It is money paid so that someone will keep information a secret. Sadly, this has become a way of life in the churches and ministries in the United States today. Orpah Winfrey recently created a whole multi-season show called “Greenleaf” that airs on Netflix. This fictional show chronicles the ways churches try to bury the truth. Unfortunately, way too many real life… Read more
PASTOR STEVEN FURTICK AND EVANGELICAL HERESY: Is Almost True Good Enough For The Gospel? I read recently an article from Life Way Research that said we now live in a day and age in the United States where one-third of all evangelical Christians do not believe Jesus is God. That is staggering to consider! Especially since Jesus Himself said in the Bible… John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes… Read more
