The Deadly Sin I Was Least Aware Of
I recently finished a teaching series on the seven deadly sins, and I saved the best for last. Or so I thought. Compared to the other sins, I thought a message on sloth would be the most fun to prepare because surely the Lord would not need to deal with me on the topic. Sermon […]
8 Reasons I Stopped Stressing About “Losing my Salvation”
The question “Can I lose my salvation” is one of the biggest questions I wrestled with when I first became a Christian. I loved Jesus but still struggled with so many things and because I struggled with so many things, I wondered if my struggles would take me outside of God’s grace. I remember coming […]
A Reminder From My Stint as a Soccer Coach: From Victory, Not for Victory
When Evie was six, I coached her soccer team and I loved it. One game in particular reminded me how to live as a Christian. We were called the Soccer Rockers and it was a blast. The kids and their parents were great. Evie’s favorite game that year was the game we played when the […]
How to Complain to God the Right Way
I was working on a message at home and Evie, my youngest, came and sat next to me and saw on the document “How to complain to God.” Her response was like many responses, “What! That’s crazy! Can you do that?” Though her complaints are not as weighty as the anguish among many in this […]
Responding as a White Pastor to Concerns From Whites About Saying Too Much on Race
What a crazy time to be a pastor! Before the horrific events of the last few weeks, there was already a myriad of memes poking fun at the misery of 2020. But in just the last few weeks pastors are making many decisions that are polarizing – from when and how to re-open the church […]
The Psalm that Has Challenged Me the Most in this Season
Early in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Justin Taylor blogged about Psalm 131 and linked to Christian counselor David Powlison’s article in the Journal of Biblical Counseling. I was already scheduled to teach Psalm 131 so I devoured the article by Powlison and threw myself into the Psalm – which has been so good […]
The Importance of Living and Leading with Two Emotions Simultaneously
How are you doing today? You could get two different answers depending on when you ask me. I can look at a difficult situation and, in some moments, aggressively quote Scripture at the situation – “If God is for me, who can be against me?” Bring it on. And then in other moments, I can […]
The Gift of a Decline in the Stock Market
Money is not the root of all kinds of evil, but the longing and lusting for it is (I Timothy 6:10). Greed is the corruption of the good and God-given desire to manage resources well, to provide for your family, and to be fruitful in this life. Greed is the corruption of that desire to […]
Pressure Exposes and Develops Character and Competence
When a ministry or organization experiences growth there is simultaneously an exposing and developing of character and competence. The pressure of caring well for more people, the stress of new problems, and the weight of new decisions both exposes and develops. In the same way, when a ministry or organization experiences a challenging season there […]
Loneliness in the US, the UK, the Garden of Eden, and the Church
Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, believes it is not good for you to be alone. In fact, the former Surgeon General is on a crusade against loneliness because of the damage that loneliness produces in people’s lives. According to Murthy loneliness is the biggest health problem facing our country. About his […]