Gospel Forms Community
The church in Philippi was home to people like this: a wealthy, upscale businesswoman whose material success could never satisfy her; a slave girl with a deep, dark, wounded past; a tough-nosed jailer and his family, just to mention the few we know. So ask yourself: What else did these people have in common but […]
View Sin as Spiritual Adultery
Sin is cheating on God. When I served as a pastor, I counseled several couples struggling with the pain of infidelity. I have seen the hurt and despair in husbands and wives who are crushed because their spouses pursued excitement or intimacy with another. I have also seen the pain and regret in those who […]
A Snapshot of the Gospel
Entire lifetimes of study on the nature and comprehensiveness of the gospel fall short of its beauty and significance, but we want to offer a simple snapshot. The apostle Paul clearly stated that the gospel brings salvation and is the core message of the Christian faith on which we stand. How does the gospel bring […]
Three Lessons Learned from a Season of Idolatry
Last week, I shared the story about how God graciously rescued me from ministry idolatry. For a season, I placed ministry above my relationship with Him and my relationship with my wife. Here are some of the lessons I learned: 1 – I am the one responsible. Godly people in the church surrounded me, but […]
Hezekiah and Makeovers
Hezekiah was a revolutionary for simple. He was extremely focused. He was against cluttered spiritual lives. Evidently God liked this characteristic about him because 2 Kings 18:3 indicates that Hezekiah did what “was right in the Lord’s sight.” He returned God’s people to the Lord. He brought them through an extreme makeover. He got rid […]
Only the Gospel Forms Deep Community
“PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST . . .” This phrase is used countless times each weekend when churches gather for worship across the United States and around the world. And while such wording is helpful in describing the intimacy of our fellowship with God, it is only part of the truth—because it neglects the reality that […]
Remember You Are His Bride
As you live, remember you are the pure and forgiven bride of Christ. Remembering your identity as a pure bride should lead you to live pure and blameless. Purity is your new identity. To live impure is to not live the reality of who you really are. To live impure is to revert to your […]
Clarifying the Gospel
Gospel is derived from the Greek word evangelion, and it means “good news.” Thus, the gospel is fundamentally news and not advice. Advice is typically counsel about something that has not yet happened and requires the listener to do something. Dress like this for the date. Ask these questions in the interview. Use this type […]
Three Signals We Are Filled with Pride
According to C. S. Lewis, our pride is our greatest sin because we hate it in others while simultaneously being unconscious of it in ourselves. Others smell the odor of our pride and are repulsed by it, but often we are oblivious to our own stench. The story of King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) is […]
The Bride of Christ: Pursued and Purchased
The reality that Christians are the bride of Christ is illustrated in the Old Testament through the explicit story of Hosea and Gomer. Hosea was a prophet who ministered during a very rebellious period in Israel’s history. God chose an interesting way to get the attention of His people. When the Lord began to speak […]