Finding Time For God In The Office
The seemingly endless obligations both at work and home can leave little space for prayer and meditation in the daily routine. Given that Christians are instructed to "pray without ceasing" and meditate on scripture "day and night", a conflict arises that often weighs heavily on…
Epic of the Ordinary: Christian Mission for You and Me
The Book of Acts is clearly one of the most action-packed segments in the storyline of Scripture. The title, “The Acts of the Apostles,” cues us in on this clue from the start. As many commentators have suggested, a more accurate title would be something to do…
30 Reasons Why It Is a Great Thing to Be a Pastor
God is the greatest Reality in the universe. And pastors swim in that sea with ever-replenished joy.I am the Lᴏʀᴅ, and there is no other, besides me there is no God. (Isaiah 45:5) Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How…
Can you grow out of a local church?
Is it possible to spiritually “outgrow” a local congregation? It is not only possible, it happens more often than you’d think. One trend I saw in my poll of those over 40 was that a notable percentage of those who’d changed churches or decreased their level of…
Prayer and Worship: The Relationship
We know from scripture that two things God requires of us as Christians is prayer and worship. We have been instructed in God’s Word to pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17). As any true prayer warrior will tell you, prayer is two-way communication between God and the…
Knowing What the Bible 'Really' Means
Why multiple translations might even be better than Scripture in its original languages. From countless pulpits every week we hear an implicit message that has wormed its way into our minds: We lack the key to unlocking the secrets of Scripture because we don't know…
Jesus’ Other Role
Sure, He’s the Savior. But He’s also something else we may have forgotten. When I was in high school the most common word that I heard associated with Jesus was “Savior,” as in, “Jesus is my Savior.” It was a prominent youth group emphasis: Jesus…
Tithing: The 10% Rule
As long as the Christian Church is In the world, it will need money in order to accomplish its tasks. There is no shame in that; after all, even Christ himself had a treasurer (Judas Iscariot, no less!) to manage the disciples' finances. But, like…
Navigating Life According to God's Thoughts
From childhood we’ve heard, "God said, let there be…" and the world came into existence. We’ve read in the Bible that He "spoke" to people and helped them when they were in trouble. We’ve heard testimonies of how God "spoke" to people concerning certain issues…
Economic Justice/Financial Literacy Sunday
I. Description of the Liturgical Moment For the 2000+ years of Christian history, Greek philosophy has inordinately influenced Christian theology. From Christianity’s inception, Platonic dualism has infiltrated biblical interpretation, leading to a belief that only spiritual, i.e. non-corporeal, matters were truly real. Money and finances…