One time, a man was answering questions for a national poll. When asked for his church preference, he responded, “Red brick.” Oh, if it could only be that simple… Preference is something that the Supreme Court of the United States has declared is … ‘a very strong belief, held with great strength.’ However, they have also determined that a preference is ‘a strong belief, but a belief that you will change under the right circumstances.’ I’ll tell you right now that … I’m praying that is so! And, I’m praying...
Without love … what would the world be like? The Apostle Paul reminds us in his famous chapter on love (1 Corinthians 13:1, NLT), “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Without love… Let me remind you that that is exactly what we’ve been talking about for the past two weeks. Yes, we’re in the midst of a series on worship, but without love … what kind of worship would...
We are THE CHURCH! And that means something, folks, especially to God… The Church (meaning us) is not something that God takes for granted… The Church is not something that God assumes will be who he wants it to be… The Church is something that God cares so much about that he wants to help prepare us to be the Church … in every way! Today, we’re going to look at what God’s up to in the life of the Church. And, we’re going to find out that God is...
According to a past article on the subject of attitude … A person’s mental attitude has an almost unbelievable effect on his powers, both physical and psychological. The British psychiatrist, J.A. Hadfield, gives a striking illustration of this fact in his booklet, ‘The Psychology of Power.’ “I asked three people,” he wrote, “to submit themselves to test the effect of mental suggestion on their [physical] strength, which was measured by gripping a dynamometer.” They were to grip the dynamometer with all their strength under three different sets of conditions: First...
At this time of year when ‘resolutions’ are being made for the days ahead, I felt it appropriate to begin here: One of our goals as believers should always be what Paul urged those in his care—to mature in the faith. In other words, we are in continual need of ‘growing up’ in the faith—growing closer to God through worship, through study, and through prayer and other spiritual disciplines (means of grace), that we might grow to be exactly what God created us to be. Our life of faith is...
When the original Advent Conspiracy churches got together to change Christmas in a very tangible way—to really live out their faith through the story of Christmas, they journeyed to Africa with a team from Living Water International—the non-profit organization who digs freshwater wells in places around the world that most of us don’t even know exist. The villages they work with are so far off the beaten path, some of that original team of Advent Conspiracy folks didn’t even know if they could reach these folks to see what was...
Today we’re going to be talking about the Advent Conspiracy ‘in a nutshell’ … or how all of this could play out in our lives this season… In this Advent Conspiracy thus far, we’ve been talking about those in this world that are in serious need—like those in need of clean water (which we take for granted most of the time). And, I know that some have been thinking ‘we need to take care of our own!’ I’ve heard that said before. And, once again, that’s fine for ‘philanthropic giving’—to...
There was a musical that came out some time back that I truly enjoyed (thanks to my wife’s encouragement). And, in that musical, there was a song that came to my mind as I was preparing for today’s message. From Rogers & Hammerstein’s ‘The King and I,’ the song was “Getting to know you….” Do you remember that one? Here’s why it hit me so strongly… Getting to know God–desiring to do so–is the beginning of true worship. And, the more we get to know God, the more we will come...
Today begins the season of Advent—Advent 2010. Can you believe it’s here? Well, let me ask you this, as we begin this season together today: Do you remember how the Christmas story goes in the Gospel of Matthew? For most of us, we’re very familiar with the Gospel of Luke and the Christmas story there—reading Luke, Chapter 2 just about every Christmas Eve since the beginning of time … but, how does the story of Christmas go … according to the Apostle Matthew? Well, it was all about a dream—the...
Folks, as we begin this second message in our ‘Joy of Giving’ series for November, I want to say bluntly today just how uncomfortable it can be for all of us to talk about our stuff—our wealth—and how it relates to our walk with God. Whether you’ve thought about it or not, it can be uncomfortable on both ends, just so you know. Not only can it be uncomfortable to hear messages about money, but it can also be uncomfortable to be ‘the messenger,’ too. With that in mind, that...
