Sometimes all it takes is one key phrase to spark an entire sermon. Christmas preaching is no different. This year, try looking at the phrases you might be tempted to skip over—there might be enough material to ignite all of your Christmas preaching in just one passage. Take Luke’s famous account of the annunciation: In…
Thanksgiving posts always seem to sound like such a scolding: we ought to give thanks. Think about all the things you have and all other people who have nothing. There, now: give thanks. Don’t concentrate on what is missing, be grateful for what you have. There, now: give thanks. Ungrateful people are losers. There,…
Maybe we never graduate beyond having little to offer the God of the universe; the longer I do ministry, the more I suspect that it’s all just loaves and fishes.
Doubt kept me from indigestion because I had to take things one bite at a time. Here are four things Thomas taught me about doubt.
Church Planting lessons can come from the least expected sources. For example, my 5th-grader. I asked her to clean her toy closet. What I gained was valuable insight into how to welcome people of all kinds. Like most children, she resists cleaning-up anything. And like most children, she has perfected the art of procrastination. No…
Every day, up to eight times a day, I silently perform a 1-3 minute spiritual ritual that is – quite literally – changing me. It’s called the Daily Examen.
It will always be true that life sucks, but we serve a Lord that has accomplished all things in life, and death, and he is our rock and salvation.
Unless the Lord starts the church, the church planters labor in vain.
We have been called and commissioned by God, empowered beyond our own resources, and granted the privilege of caring for His flock. And yet we still struggle with fear and insecurity, and with facing rejection.
“Repent” is the first word of the good news. That means preaching repentance is part of the good news! Faith and hope come as we rethink our way of life based upon what God has already done.
