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…”
Tag Archives: Jesus
When Jesus was people-watching and taught his disciples how to be generous
I love people-watching. When I was in college, I took a class in which one of our assignments was to go to a place where lots of people walk by and we had to people-watch. While we were watching them, we were to pray that God would give us a heart for people. I neverContinue reading “When Jesus was people-watching and taught his disciples how to be generous”
Steps to become humble (yes, you can become more humble!)
I learned something surprising this week. I was studying humility for my summer sermon series on Spiritual Exercises (spiritual disciplines). What surprised me is that humility is not simply a state of mind or a belief. It starts there, but it doesn’t stay there. Humility, Jesus in particular showed us, and the biblical writers tellContinue reading “Steps to become humble (yes, you can become more humble!)”
Why and how we should practice fasting as regularly as we pray or give
Is fasting an important teaching of Jesus? Let’s be honest. Rarely, exceedingly rarely, in our evangelical world do we hear about fasting. Once scholarly source, Halley’s Handbook says this: “There are special occasions born out of extreme sorrow when fasting is appropriate, but generally speaking it is out of order.” Generally speaking, it isContinue reading “Why and how we should practice fasting as regularly as we pray or give”
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?”
Why we’re installing modesty scanners in our church lobby
What is modesty??? Who gets to make the call? What centrally recognized authority do women have so that all can go to that authority to answer the question “Is this outfit modest?” There isn’t one! There is no centrally recognized Christian modesty panel that we can refer to. Men, we really have little ideaContinue reading “Why we’re installing modesty scanners in our church lobby”
What if Christianity’s massive investment in worship is wrong?
Is it possible that Christianity’s massive investment in worship is misguided? Think about it. We invest a lot of time, money and energy into worship, don’t we? One morning or evening each week is devoted to it. Our society is very much oriented toward a weekly schedule that keeps Sunday mornings free. We also buildContinue reading “What if Christianity’s massive investment in worship is wrong?”
Two things Christians should fight for
Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight. Generally Christians are not supposed to be fighting. So what fight is Paul talking about? He calls it a good fight. Not too many fights could be described as good ones. Life can feel like a fight. Have you ever felt that way? Life seems too hard sometimes doesn’tContinue reading “Two things Christians should fight for”
Engaging Scripture 