If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we’re closing in on the end of our late-summer worship series called ‘Christian’. One more message next week and we’ll finish up this series. But today’s message, if you haven’t caught it in your bulletin, is entitled ‘Loopholes’. And it’s titled ‘Loopholes’ because I thought we should talk about ‘loopholes’ today. You know what a loophole is, don’t you? It’s a way of getting around a rule or a law so that you can get what you want. And...
We’re a little past midway in our late-summer series called ‘Christian’ … where we’ve been talking about what that word means and what it doesn’t mean. We’ve discovered that ‘Christian’ is a word used by those outside the faith … to describe those inside—not a nice word either. But, Jesus’ followers didn’t call themselves ‘Christian’ and Jesus never called his followers that. He had a very specific, very technical word he used to describe those who followed him: disciple. And, folks, unlike the word ‘Christian’—mentioned only 3 times in the...
We are right in the middle of a series called ‘Christian’ as we begin today. And we’ve been talking about the fact that you could be a Christian and believe just about anything you want, do just about anything you want, and adopt just about any lifestyle you want … because the Bible doesn’t even tell us what a Christian really is. Christian was a term used by those outside the faith … to negatively describe or label those inside the faith, but it wasn’t the term used by Jesus...
Today, we begin the 4th part of our series entitled “Christian”, and if this is the first time you’re with us, I’ll try to catch you up quickly. This series will go through Labor Day weekend, and once we get through today’s message this series is going to go to a whole new level. So, whatever you do, don’t go anywhere; you’re not going to want to miss what’s ahead… To date, we’ve been talking about the word ‘Christian’ or the brand ‘Christian’ and all it means or doesn’t mean....
We’re moving into the 3rd part of our ‘Christian’ series today, where we’ve been talking specifically about the word ‘Christian’—what it means and doesn’t mean. And we’ve learned together that the word Christian is a bit ambiguous—only mentioned 3 times in the NT, nobody ever really defining it, so you can basically make this word mean whatever you want it to mean! That’s why there are ‘Christians’ on every side of every issue; even though you’re ‘Christian’ and believe similar things, it just doesn’t seem to make much difference in...
Some of you may be familiar with the name … Anne Rice. If you read novels, I’m sure you’ve heard the name. Anne Rice has written about 30-some books, with 90 million published. She’s one of the most successful authors in modern-day history. In her earlier years, she wrote mostly what is called ‘metaphysical gothic fiction’—in other words, vampire novels. Interview with the Vampire was one of her hit books that was made into a movie—one of her earliest books from the 70s. The Vampire Chronicles is also hers that...
As I begin today to talk about ‘brand recognition’, let me do a little game of ‘association’. Now sometimes ‘brand recognition’ has to do with stuff; at other times, it has to do with people groups … and that’s what I’m talking about today. Let’s give this a try… When I use the word ‘American,’ you know what that means, right? How about if I were say ‘Kiwanis’? You know those folks, don’t you? How about ‘Wisconsin Badger’ (like Jessica Gorsline starting this fall)… Or ‘Green Bay Packer’—those who wear...
To everyone’s amazement, Sam Houston—Texas’ colorful soldier and politician, came to a saving faith in Christ. Shortly after he committed his life to Christ, he was baptized. And after his baptism, Houston publicly stated that he wanted to pay half the salary of the local minister. Someone who heard him was quick to ask the question: “Why in the world would you want to do something like that?” To which Houston responded, “My pocketbook was baptized, too!” Like Sam Houston, we may now understand that the Christian life cannot be...
We know that Christ commands us to give. We also know God offers us great rewards for giving. So, why is it so hard to give? I just read an article the other day on the topic of church growth. The author stated (and I’ve heard this before) that if you want your church to grow, you need to ask the right questions. You don’t ask, ‘What would make my church grow?’ Instead you ask, ‘What is keeping my church from growing?’ In other words, what are the roadblocks to...
There’s a story told that contrasts two very different lives … that really speaks to the Treasure Principle we’ve been learning together. And it goes something like this… A ministry family went to Egypt to visit some missionary friends they supported there. While they were there, their missionary friends took them to see some sights they’d be interested in. One day, through the hot & dusty streets of Cairo, they were taken to a poorly kept graveyard for American missionaries. As the missionaries led them into the graveyard, they pointed...
