What is the most beautiful thing in the world? What is it that would cause not just humanity but the heavenly realms to stop and take notice? The apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus about this beauty. He tells them that this beauty was hidden for centuries, but has now been revealed.
Read MoreAs believers (witnesses of truth) we must prize truth as the Lord does. Therefore, we have to be better about perpetuating false information on social media. When we fail to investigate personally what we propagate publicly, we will find it easy to break the ninth commandment.
Read MoreHave you ever heard: "I'm a christian, but I don't believe it's necessary to be a part of an organized church?” While a phrase like this has become common place in our culture the truth is that Christ believed and taught that the local church is absolutely necessary in the life of a Christian. In fact, it is Christ who organized it, gave specific commands you cannot obey while in neglect of it, and gifted you by His grace with its gathering just as he gathered you in it by His grace.
Read MoreOne of the ways we glimpse into God’s present power and are able to grasp His future promise of victory is in Jesus’ encounters with demons in the gospels. Jesus’ present authority assures us of our final victory.
Read MoreI’ve been scrolling my social media feeds and I’ve seen a lot of pastoral search ads lately...
Here is an example of an all-too-common pastor search ad: “We’re looking for a high-capacity leader who communicates well and excels at building teams.”
Read MoreThe word "deacon" can be literally translated "serving, attending to, or waiting tables." Therefore, a deacon is to be a servant, a minister, or a helper. While all believers are intended to be "ministers" or "servants," there are some who are called to serve in the Biblical deacon office. Does the Bible specifically restrict those who serve in this office to men or can women serve as a deaconess?
Read MoreIt appears both inside and outside the church there are misunderstandings in regard to men and women as they relate in sexual intimacy. The misunderstanding is on both the part of men and women. They both fail to see and appreciate the God given role of sex as it pertains to the intimacy in the marriage relationship. Marriage is a beautiful relationship that is to mirror Christ and the church (Eph 5:32). It is designed to highlight the love relationship between Christ as He sacrificially gave Himself to the church as well as highlighting the role of the church as she submits to her Savior. But the question is, how does sex and intimacy between men and women in the union of marriage mirror that image of Christ and the church?
Read MoreOne of the difficulties in ministry is the pressure, both internal and external, to be something you are not called to be in order to generate “success” in your church. I was reminded of this as I read an article that presented the idea of Jimmy Fallon as a youth pastor. While the article was both helpful and served good example of learning from culture, it also made me think of other ways we as youth pastors, or any other ministry leader, can feel the pressure to conform to a “Fallon Philosophy” of ministry. At the end of the day, this “Fallon Philosophy” is an unhelpful fallacy.
Read MoreOver the past few years, podcasting has become a popular medium for news outlets, leadership lessons, and church sermons. One of the many reasons, I believe, podcasts have become so popular is attributed to the fact that they are free and accessible virtually anywhere.
I enjoy podcasts because I enjoy learning and laughing while accomplishing other tasks throughout the day. Here are the podcasts I listened to the most in 2017 in no particular order:
Read MoreThe greatest hope and surest prayer of the Christian parent is that their children will come to have a personal relationship God through faith in Jesus Christ. But how do Christian parents approach the topic of salvation with their kids? Over the years I think there have been a few unhelpful ways to talk about faith as well as many helpful ways.
In this blog I will first list a few common yet (probably) unhelpful ways of leading your student through a conversation about faith before writing what I believe is the most Biblical way to talk about faith.
Read MoreI have not been a pastor a long time. In fact, as I write this blog I recognize I have little experience and wisdom to offer when it comes to sermon preparation and execution. However, there are a few small habits I've implemented in my preparation that have been substantially helpful in the practice of preaching the Gospel. Here are my nine tips for writing your first sermon.
Read More
