Never Trust Your Preacher!
Why would a preacher tell you to never trust your preacher? Isn’t trust inherent in the job of preaching? I mean, if you never trust your preacher, who can you trust? Gallup published a new poll last month which put preachers on par with journalists for trustworthiness. Only 37% of respondents rate clergy as high […]
How to Confront Someone About Sin
We would love to float through life with neither confrontations nor drama. Tough conversations are unpleasant, and we prefer to steer away from them. But there are times when difficult conversations must take place. Jesus was not a stranger to tough talk. He spoke to critics, skeptics, and followers alike. He even spoke to his […]
Why Bother?
“Of all the things I have to do every week, attending church is not a priority.” Could that be your thinking? If we believe the most current research that is exactly the thinking of many people. They wonder, “Why bother with church?” Life pulls in many directions. There are important things like children, school, and work. […]
Neither Jew nor Greek, Millennial or Boomer
The title butchers the verse. Galatians 3:28 really says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” It is one of Paul’s great unifying statements on the oneness of the Christian family; the household of God. Spiritually, […]
5 Reasons Children Leave
Children are leaving Jesus. Young adults are leaving Jesus. They say they are leaving the church or organized religion but the hard truth is that they are leaving Jesus. The church belongs to Jesus: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell […]
5 Ways to Guarantee Hypocrisy Will Thrive
“Hypocrite” is a nasty word. It’s a slap in the face to be called a hypocrite. Jesus used it for his loudest critics (Matthew 23). He used it of those who were judgemental while ignoring their own faults (Matthew 7:5; 15:7). It is not a nice label. Nobody likes a hypocrite. Yet, hypocrisy is everywhere. […]
Who Are You Listening To?
I was studying Psalm 1 this morning and it suddenly hit me. God’s people need a better filter. We need to screen out the empty words of the wicked from our lives. That seems obvious but there is more to it; it has a greater impact than you might think. “Blessed is the man who […]
Are the Disobedient Saved?
We recently wrote of the alleged clash between grace and works. Our conclusion was that a man cannot be saved apart from God’s grace. We also affirmed that there is a response, an obligation on the part of man which is also essential. Today, I want to pursue that idea a bit further. It is […]
Grace Vs. Works
There is no clash between grace and works. Both are undeniable biblical concepts. Christians are “saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). They are also created to do good works and must be obedient to the Lord’s commands (Ephesians 2:10; Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5; Romans 6:17). Any clash between grace and works is man-made and […]
Christian Stress Relief
I’m thinking about family this morning; not physical family but the larger house of God. If you’ve been with us lately, we’ve talked some about being God’s people and he being our God. Those were his words through inspiration to the Patriarchs and later, to the Hebrews (Genesis 17:8; Exodus 29:49; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27). […]
