Posts from November 2018

What our kids are learning

Our culture has a lot to say to our kids. If you can run a 4.4 40, throw an accurate 95mph fastball, or consistently sink 18-foot jump shots, you’ve got potential. Or . . . If you’ve got a 4.0 GPA with a 30+ ACT and acceptance letters from schools that reject more than they welcome. Or maybe . . . if you look like this and dress like that and have a body shaped like her . . .…

Read it

I stopped at Chick-fil-A awhile back, and I was surprised to see an open Bible lying on the main counter beside the newspaper rack. At first, I thought a customer must’ve left it there, then I realized that someone in a position of authority had put it there on purpose. It was weird seeing a Bible in a public establishment like that. In our increasingly secular world, it’s become unfashionable to take Bibles into public places. Do it too much…

Resources for Discussion Class Hour on November 28, 2018

Sermon Title: Nothing Compares To God Text: James 1:13-15 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) God loves us desperately, infinitely more than we can even imagine and far more than we deserve. In spite of our faults and imperfections and weaknesses, he looks down on us with love and affection. How awesome it is to be loved by a perfect Being, the Father…

Love God

There’s a lot I don’t understand about matters of faith, but one thing I get: there’s only one God, and he deserves (and expects) top priority. You’ll find this thought in pretty much every book of the Bible. God stated it emphatically at the beginning of his covenant relationship with Israel: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with…

Brothers

I was heading toward the checkout at Walmart the other day and a man in his early thirties approached me holding a loaf of bread, some bologna, and some potato chips.  I could tell he was going to ask for help because I guess we all have a personal radar that pings in those situations. He said that he didn’t want money, he just needed the food to eat because he’d been sleeping in his car for the past week…

Resources for Discussion Class Hour on November 14, 2018

Sermon Title: Why We’re Here: A Worshiping Community Text:Luke 24:28-35 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) This was the last of a four-part series under the heading, “Why We’re Here,” focusing on Luke’s description of the earliest Christians in Acts 2:42-47. The previous sermons have emphasized the church as a learning community, a sharing community, and an eating together community. Sunday we focused…

Stiff-necked

Ever dealt with someone stubborn? I mean really stubborn, as in talking-to-a-wall stubborn? [Some of you are thinking, Yes, I’m married to him . . . :-)] I’ve even heard some folks describing themselves this way as if it were a compliment. It’s not. Or at least God never uses it that way. In fact, sometimes it’s translated with a word that creates an interesting image: And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it…

Resources for Discussion Class Hour on November 7, 2018

Sermon Title: Lights in the World Text: Philippians 2:12-18 (ESV) Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?) On the first Sunday morning of each month in 2018, we’ve emphasized our theme: Love God. Love People. Change the World. As we near the end of the year we’re using the last of these to emphasize the last part of that theme: Change the World. God put…

Beware of Dogs

At the risk of shattering your image of the Apostle Paul, I need to let you know that he wasn’t a dog-lover. Our man’s-best-friend image actually hinders us from understanding how intense these words are: Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh (Philippians 3:2). Along with most of his contemporaries, Paul viewed dogs as packs of ravenous creatures who roamed the countryside eating whatever they could find. So, to…