How parents and grandparents can bring revival to our land

There’s a scary reality we need to bring up. Though we are studying Deuteronomy, jump ahead to Judges 2:10, which takes place maybe 40-50 years after Deuteronomy.  By this time Joshua has taken over for Moses as leader of Israel, guiding Israel as  they take possession of the Promised Land and settle down.  Then JoshuaContinue reading “How parents and grandparents can bring revival to our land”

Will your life’s work be a waste? (3 Lessons from Moses to make sure it won’t)

Are you investing in people to take over for you?  Or will your efforts stop with you?  It might be a volunteer position in your church.  It might be a job at work.  It might be a leadership role in your family or on your sports team.  You’ve served and worked and given much ofContinue reading “Will your life’s work be a waste? (3 Lessons from Moses to make sure it won’t)”

Jesus doesn’t want believers, he wants…

Jesus doesn’t want believers?  What?  Yes, he does.  Doesn’t he? Yes, he does.  He even said “Believe in me.”  Read the Gospel of John and you’ll hear Jesus say that many times. So a couple of years ago the leader of my denomination, Bishop Bruce Hill, made the statement in the title of this post.  When IContinue reading “Jesus doesn’t want believers, he wants…”

How the scariest Bible story helped us create our Faith Church Growth Process

What do you think is the scariest, most haunting passage in the Bible?  Maybe something about demons or hell or something?  Could be. For me it is Matthew 7:13-29, and especially verses 21-23 where Jesus says this: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the oneContinue reading “How the scariest Bible story helped us create our Faith Church Growth Process”

How you can experience eternal life before you die (and why waiting till after you die is foolish)

Do you feel like following Jesus is difficult?  I sometimes think that I must be doing it wrong, because following Jesus seems like it should be easy, but I can struggle with it.  Is it is struggle for you too?  And what do we do when following Jesus seems too difficult?  We so often flee pain,Continue reading “How you can experience eternal life before you die (and why waiting till after you die is foolish)”

Why does following the way of Jesus seem so difficult?

For those of you that are followers of Jesus, have you ever thought that that following the way of Jesus is difficult?  I think life itself can feel difficult.  But then add following Jesus, and there is another layer of effort, right? Ever think thoughts like this? I hear Jesus say “my yoke is easy andContinue reading “Why does following the way of Jesus seem so difficult?”

How to stop the drama in your life

Are you a drama magnet?  A drama queen?  None of us likes to admit it, so maybe I should ask “Has anyone ever told you that you are a drama queen?”  Have you ever looked at your life and thought, “Why does drama seem to follow me around?”  In my post last week, I sharedContinue reading “How to stop the drama in your life”

When Christians should stop inviting people to church

I appreciate a good provocative title.  My wife says if I use them too much, people will become callous to them.  She’s right.  But I really am serious about the title of this blog post.  At first I titled it “WHY Christians should stop inviting people to church.”  But that was a smidge misleading, andContinue reading “When Christians should stop inviting people to church”

The extremely important teaching of Jesus that Google (and maybe your church) is missing

Today while writing this post, I googled “the one thing Jesus taught us to do.”  I was looking for an image to illustrate the reflection that I usually write about the previous Sunday’s sermon.  The results of my image search were very interesting.  Can you predict which result was the most frequent?  Prayer.  I guessContinue reading “The extremely important teaching of Jesus that Google (and maybe your church) is missing”

Could a church worship service be a bad thing?

Did you have a security blanket as a kid?  Maybe it was a special stuffed animal or a pacifier.  Or did you suck your thumb? I had a blanket as a child.  My own kids had a variety of security items, which got progressively bizarre.  Child #1 carried around a blanket, which we had snuglyContinue reading “Could a church worship service be a bad thing?”