The subtitle of author Reggie McNeal’s book Kingdom Come, is compelling: “why we must give up our obsession with fixing the church—and what we should do instead”. That grabbed me! In the book, he tells the story of when he was at a conference for pastors and said this: “We’ve been working at fixing theContinue reading “How the church has gotten in the way of God’s Kingdom…and what to do about it.”
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Why we’re getting rid of the word “evangelical” from our church sign
Evangelicals are in the news! Donald Trump recently met with Evangelical leaders. I have seen so many articles about Evangelicals and politics these past few weeks. Some signaling the demise of evangelicalism. Some talking about the decline of evangelical influence. What in the world is an Evangelical, anyway? We are Faith Evangelical Congregational Church. WeContinue reading “Why we’re getting rid of the word “evangelical” from our church sign”
Telling your story is more important than you think
Hey Christian, you are witnesses of these things! Last week on the sermon intro blog post, I suggested that one bit of Christian lingo, the word “witness,” might not mean what you think it means. So what does “witness” mean? Jesus says in Luke 24:36-53, that his disciples are all witnesses. They watched his lifeContinue reading “Telling your story is more important than you think”
Hey Christian, “witness” might not mean what you think it means
We Christians use a lot of lingo. This lingo is insider talk, words and phrases that most of us understand if we have been in churches for a number of years, but newcomers or anyone else might find this lingo confusing. Some have even dubbed it “Christianese”. Not sure what I’m talking about? A friendContinue reading “Hey Christian, “witness” might not mean what you think it means”
How to find the good life (is it in North Dakota?)
Do you want to have a good life? Apparently you can find it in North Dakota. I wonder what people from North Dakota have to say about that? I’ve never been, but I often say to my wife, after dealing with some kind of difficulty in our family, finances, or jobs, that maybe we shouldContinue reading “How to find the good life (is it in North Dakota?)”
He is risen? Really? So what?
“He is risen! He is risen indeed!” This is the call and response that we use on Easter Sunday. But this Sunday is not Easter Sunday. That was two months ago. This Sunday we’re revisiting Easter again. Why? In the book of Acts we learn that the earliest Christians decided to meet on Sundays becauseContinue reading “He is risen? Really? So what?”
Should we wear crosses or crucifixes?
The cross. Almost every Sunday we sing about the cross. We have crosses in our church building, and we have a cross outside our building. How many of you are wearing a cross around your neck? The cross is very common. My task this coming Sunday is to talk about the cross. Once each monthContinue reading “Should we wear crosses or crucifixes?”
How to love and be loved when you are facing hardship
Are you going through a hard time? How are you handling it? Some of you have seen The Passion of the Christ which vividly portrays the Roman flogging of Jesus just before they crucified him. I remember watching that when it first came out in the theater, my stomach churning, tears flowing. It isContinue reading “How to love and be loved when you are facing hardship”
Have you ever been falsely accused?
Have you ever been wrongfully mistreated or accused? Have you ever been blamed for something that you didn’t do? It is a horrible feeling. You know that deep down inside you have done nothing wrong. So what do you do? Remember a few years ago when some members of the Duke University men’s lacrosse teamContinue reading “Have you ever been falsely accused?”
How God wants to restore you
Betrayal and denial. Jesus experienced both, from two of his closest followers, in a matter of no more than one hour. That had to hurt deeply. You can read the story in Luke 22:47-62. Yesterday at Faith Church we talked about what it feels like when we have been betrayed or denied. We also talkedContinue reading “How God wants to restore you”
Engaging Scripture 