From the Blog
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Glorifying God Together
The Bible talks about ways that we can glorify God on our own. We glorify Him with our faith, trusting Him with our future. We glorify Him with our worship, proclaiming with what we say and do that He is worthy to be praised. However, in order to glorify God “in everything,” we must also learn to glorify God with one another, corporately. And you can’t do the “one another’s” of the Bible without…one another.
In Peter’s letter to the Church scattered in Asia Minor, he gave them instructions about how to glorify God with one another. We can follow these instructions and glorify God with one another. -
Doing Life Together
The truth is we need God and we need one another. We are created for relationship. That’s why Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). We were made to love God and one another. We were made to do life together!
In the book of Acts, Luke recorded how the first century church was devoted to doing life together as the body of Christ. We can be devoted to doing life together as the body of Christ. -
PARENTING: Bringing up children in the Lord
Parents today are worried. They’re worried about their child’s health: obesity, drug abuse, bullying, internet safety, stress, teen pregnancy, depression, and teen suicide. They’re worried about their education: public, private or home school? College? So, a lot of parenting today is worry-driven, or fear driven. Parents today feel overwhelmed and underprepared. Either because they came from a dysfunctional family themselves or because they have no foundational biblical understanding, they feel lost in their role. So, many are just winging it.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he told them how to bring their children up in the Lord. We can follow God’s Word in bringing up our children in the Lord. -
MARRIAGE: Following God’s Design
Who we put in charge of building our “house” can determine its success or failure. Today, we want to discuss how making God the Builder means following God’s design for our marriage. Are there areas in your marriage 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. -
FAMILY: Trusting God as Its Builder
The family was originally God’s idea. He created us and ordained the first family. And He offers to be the Builder of our families when we make Him Lord. Who is the “builder” of your family? What activities are given top priority for your family? How is your family doing? How is your marriage? Your parenting? Your teens? Have you made God its Builder?
In the book of Genesis, Moses wrote that God was the builder of the very first family, creating Adam and Eve and establishing them as the parents of all the living. We can trust God as the builder of our families. -
Proclaim God’s Story
We might summarize God’s plan for witnessing in four words: Pray, Presence, Power, Proclaim. God’s plan is that we are to pray, look for God’s presence, depend on God’s power, and proclaim God’s gospel. Today, we want to focus on the 4th and final step, Proclaim God's Story, because there is no witness without words!
In the gospel according to John, Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman drawing water at Jacob’s well outside the city of Sychar. After her encounter with Jesus, she immediately went back to her hometown to proclaim the story to everyone. We can proclaim the story of how we met Jesus. -
Depend on God’s Power
Many of us go through life not experiencing spiritual power. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, he reminded them how he had depended on God’s power to share the gospel with them, so they were enabled to respond by faith in Jesus. We can depend on God’s power to as we share the gospel, so…
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Look for God’s Presence
Have you been frustrated or afraid to share your faith in Christ? Perhaps you view it as a burden or a duty that you really don’t want to carry. But when we begin to pray for God to prepare the heart of our “one,” He not only hears our prayers for them, He begins to do a work in us too. We begin to feel God’s heart for the “one” to whom He has called us. Then, when we begin to look for God’s presence already at work in this “one’s” life, we begin to feel the adventure of being on mission with God. Witnessing becomes life’s greatest adventure!
In Dr. Luke’s record of the early church called the Acts of the Apostles, he recorded how the apostle Paul and his missionary team continually followed after God’s presence so they might join the Father where He was already at work. As a result, the Lord called them to carry the gospel to Macedonia where the Lord had prepared the heart of a woman named Lydia to hear the gospel and so become the first European to believe. -
Pray for God’s Preparation
Prayer is not a footnote to evangelism. It is the priority! It is the plow that prepares the soil of the heart to receive the seed of God’s Word and the heart of the sower to plant it there. When we pray we are changed first, then the recipient of our prayers are prepared to hear and believe the gospel.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, he prayed that they would remember the power of God that prepared them to hear and believe the gospel. We can pray that God would powerfully prepare the “one” which He has called us to reach with the gospel. -
Following God’s Plan
Surely we, both as individuals and as a church, must take Christ’s commission to take the Good News to the nations seriously, and we do. But sometimes focusing on the many can cause us to overlook the importance of going after the one! Yet, God never overlooks the one.
Luke the physician wrote Acts as a historical record of the early church. This first century church was marked by God’s presence and power in such a vital way that they literally turned the world upside down for Christ. What was their secret? They followed God’s plan. In Luke’s book of Acts, he recorded how the early church followed God’s plan to be His witnesses.