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How Great Pain Can Point Us to a Great God
For many, painful circumstances drive us toward one of three, general stress responses: fight, flight, or freeze...But what if we added “faith” to that list? It was C.S. Lewis...who said: “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”...
10 Reasons Why, Though Awful, the Idea of Hell is Not Absurd
When we consider what the Bible tells us about hell, it is undoubtedly awful. But is it absurd? Is the idea of hell unreasonable? Some people believe so. But hell is clearly taught in Scripture. In fact, Jesus spoke about it more than anyone else. So what can we do? What should we do with this Christian concept of hell in a 'hell no' society?...
You May Be Wrong About the Lord's Prayer
How exactly should we use the Lord's Prayer? In some traditions, consistent repetition of the exact words of this prayer seems to be done in a mechanical way, as if the prayer were some kind of 'magical mantra'. Others have emphasized the idea that this prayer is not a mantra, but a model, intended to shape the broad contours of all our prayers. So which is it?...
Practicing Digital Disciplines: Four Areas to Keep in Mind
Like the operator of a nuclear power station, effectively handling the power of your digital device requires careful consideration and consistent discipline. Without this mindset, experiencing a relational or emotional or mental or spiritual 'meltdown' is a very real possibility....
From Valentine's Day to Good Friday
While colorful hearts and cartoonish cupids are common images around Valentine's Day, the cross was the image the Apostle Paul wanted his reader to be informed and inspired by above all others. As Paul wrote in the opening verses of Ephesians 5, God has called us to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us”...
4 Ways Lust Hurts You and Yours
So many people today believe it's perfectly normal to make room in your life for lust. They think, “As long as I'm not hurting anyone, what's the big deal... ?” Such people might be surprised to learn there are many ways sexual lust harms you and those around you....
On Election Day, Every Christian Should Be an Independent
...I'd like to do more than just encourage you to vote. If you are a Christian, I'd like to encourage you to vote as an independent. No, I'm not talking about your party affiliation. But I am thinking about the idea of party affiliation. ...
Our Need for Neediness
Needy. Do any of us want to be needy? Do any of us want to be thought of as needy? If you are needy in our society, does it, from the culture's perspective, make you a hero or a 'zero'?...
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The Forgotten Fundamental: Fearing God
Quick question: What's your favorite praise song or hymn about fearing God? Struggling to come up with examples? You wouldn't be alone. Compared to songs about loving God or worshiping God, songs about fearing God are few and far between. And there's a good chance that poverty is also reflected in our prayers and preaching as well....
How Scientists Can Make You a Better Bible Reader!
When a biblical passage appears to be at odds with the current scientific consensus, the problem may be that we simply have further to go in understanding the true meaning of the text...But in other cases...the issue is not the limitations of our biblical knowledge, but rather, the limitations of scientific knowledge....
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Youth Rummage Sale--Volunteers!
Youth and Youth Parents! Take a look at the volunteer needs/time slots for our Rummage Sale Fundraiser and let us know how you can help....
Keep ReadingHell and the Wrath of God
Even though we struggle with ideas of judgment and hell, they are important expressions of God's own nature....
Keep ReadingWhy the Cross? (Part Four)
Christ died to save a great diversity of peoples. Sin is no respecter of cultures. All peoples have sinned. Every race and culture needs to be reconciled to God. As the disease of sin is global, so the remedy is global. Jesus saw the agony of the cross coming and spoke boldly about the scope of his purpose: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to ...
Keep ReadingWhy the Cross? (Part One)
Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn’t bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father’s family but not in his arms...This is the greatest thing Christ died for. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). ...
Keep ReadingWhy the Cross? (Part Two)
“Imitation is not salvation. But salvation brings imitation. Christ is not given to us first as model, but as Savior. In the experience of the believer, first comes the pardon of Christ, then the pattern of Christ. In the experience of Christ himself, they happen together: The same suffering that pardons our sins provides our pattern of love."...
Keep ReadingWhy the Cross? (Part Three)
There is no salvation by balancing the records. There is only salvation by canceling records. The record of our bad deeds (including our defective good deeds), along with the just penalties that each deserves, must be blotted out...
Keep ReadingOn Sinning Deliberately
"Our message this past Sunday from I John highlighted language the Apostle John used in 3:4-9 to describe those not 'born of God'; those who have neither 'seen him [nor] know him'. John described them as those who make 'a practice of sinning' (vs. 4, 8, 9)... While not addressing I John 3, Pastor John Piper's comments on Hebrews 10 can help us with this concept of making ...
Keep ReadingSuper Bowls Ads, MLK, and True Greatness
Funny how God works. He can even use the misguided pairing of Dodge and Dr. King, on a Super Bowl Sunday, to point us back to true greatness and the One who makes it possible....
Keep ReadingStanding for the Unborn
Abortion is an assault on the image, character, grace, gospel, and glory of God. For the Christian to see it as anything less than that is to reject a biblical view of God’s gospel and God’s glory...Every child in the womb is a masterpiece shaped by the master craftsman....
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