From the Blog
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The Welcoming Church
What are you looking for in a church? Do you want to be part of a church that looks like you, talks like you, thinks like you? Same color and race, same political party, same favorite basketball team and BBQ style? Or are you willing to welcome and receive others who have different personalities and preferences, but want to love and follow Jesus? God calls us to unity, but not uniformity. And in order to be a welcoming church, we must know the difference.
In Romans chapter 14, the apostle Paul told the believers in Rome, who came from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, that God had called them to be a welcoming church, not a judgmental and quarreling church. -
The Law of Love
What is your mental operating system? What kind of gravity tugs and pulls at your thinking? Do you struggle with anger, with depression, with a poor self-image, with unforgiveness, with temptation, with addiction, with hatred…? What controls your thoughts and attitudes and therefore your actions? Is it love?
In Romans chapter 13, the apostle Paul instructed the believers in Rome that they were to let God’s law of love govern their attitudes and actions. As believers, we are to let God’s law of love govern our attitudes and actions. -
Dual Citizenship
In this passage, Paul describes how Christians should relate to their government. In other words, how those whose citizenship is in heaven are to relate to their worldly government. And the instruction he gives from the Lord is this: we are to submit to the governing authorities.
With all the political division in our country and with the approaching midterms in November, don’t you want to know what God’s Word says about how we as believers are to relate to our government? In Romans chapter 13, the apostle Paul instructed the believers in Rome that God wanted them to live in subjection to the governing authorities. As Christians, God calls us to live in subjection to the governing authorities. -
Be Connected
God wants you in His family photo, taped to His fridge, hanging over His mantle, tucked away in His wallet. God wants you to be connected to His family! But our sin has separated us from Him and causes us to isolate ourselves from Him and from one another.
God doesn’t want us to be alone. We were made to love God and one another. We were made to be connected to God and His family! In the book of Acts, Luke recorded how the first century church was devoted to being connected as God’s family. We can be devoted to being connected as God’s family. -
Be Growing
We used to get asked this question a lot when we were kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” We would say a doctor, a policeman, a firefighter, a soldier, a veterinarian, even a power ranger. Maybe you did just that! But somewhere along the journey we stopped asking that question and I want to present to you today that, as Christians, we should have never stopped. Scripture presents the case that every Christian already knows the answer to who they want to be when they grow up … like Jesus!
Scripture gives us some great insights into how Jesus grew so that we might follow His example. In the Gospel of Luke, Luke concluded the narrative of Christ’s birth and childhood by stating the ways in which Jesus grew into manhood. We can grow in the ways that Jesus grew. -
Be Accepted
What’s your response when you sin? Do you make excuses and say, “Everybody’s doing it”? Or do you struggle with guilt and shame, feeling distant from God? And what do you do about repetitive sin areas? You know those sins that you’ve confessed to God, but you still struggle to overcome? So now you’re either discouraged or you’ve given up and started doubting your faith? And what about when you sin against a family member or friend? In other words, you’ve offended them in some way. How do you handle that? Do know how to reconcile with them, giving and receiving forgiveness so that fellowship is restored. So that you feel accepted again?
This is what we’re considering today from the apostle John. How to experience God’s acceptance. In the apostle John’s first epistle, he taught believers how to experience God’s forgiveness and acceptance. We can learn to experience God’s forgiveness and acceptance. -
Be Confident
What’s your level of confidence that you have been forgiven of your sins and born again as a new creation in Christ Jesus? “I hope so?” Or “I’ve tried to live a good life, so I hope so?”
But wouldn’t you like to change “I hope so” to “I know so”? Is that possible? Yes, according to God’s Word, you can be assured, you can be confident that you belong to God’s family through faith in Christ Jesus. In the book of Hebrews, believers were told that they could have confidence that they belonged to God’s family through faith in Christ Jesus. We can be confident that we belong to God’s family through faith in Christ Jesus. -
On Marriage
How is your marriage doing? Are there some areas that need a tune-up? Or maybe even a restart? The truth is we all need help with our marriage. And the best help is found in the Lord. For God has a design for marriage.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he gave instructions on how to follow God’s design for being the family of God. Among these, are his instructions on how to follow God’s design for marriage. We can follow God’s design for marriage. -
On Conflict
Conflict. Everyone has felt the hurt that comes from conflict. Whether it’s between you and your parents, your siblings, your friends, your neighbors, your spouse. Conflict hurts. And most of us will avoid it at any cost. Others among us seem to go looking for it. But what many may label “irreconcilable differences” may in fact be one of the best opportunities for unity in our relationships.
There’s no such thing as conflict-free marriages, or families, or friendships. Conflict will come. What matters is how we face conflict. In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he urged them to resolve conflict with one another by the power of Christ Jesus. We can resolve conflict with one another by the power of Jesus. -
On Communication
How are you and your family doing with communication? If you’re single, do you have
good communication with your parents and siblings? What about with close friends? Do you ever feel lonely with no real family to talk to? If you are married, are you and your spouse experiencing the joyful oneness and intimacy that God designed for marriage? Is there unity in your family with mutual understanding?
How can we learn to communicate for mutual understanding in our families?In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught them to communicate for mutual understanding as the family of God. We can communicate for mutual understanding in our families.