A perfect future kingdom awaits those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. A kingdom with no sickness, death, disease, injustice, war, oppression, etc – a perfect kingdom. Now, however, we live in the already/not yet. The period where we can taste victory, but we can’t fully enjoy it because Jesus’ hasn’t yet…
Every other year I try to go to a conference hosted by Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY — Together for the Gospel. Not only is a great time to hear the Word preached and fellowship with folks I haven’t seen in years, but it is a great opportunity to pick up a lot of books. Every year…
This is the second post in a two part series. You can read Part 1 here. 6 Reasons We Know God Wants What is Best for Us (4) God created a purpose for us in life Some of you reading this are retired, are approaching retirement, or wish retirement was closer. The one thing that those who are…
When I was growing up, my mom and grandma liked watching the news. As we all know, there aren’t a lot of happy stories on the news. It is mostly about people getting killed, kids getting kidnapped, or some other bad thing happening to people. Watching that everyday scared my mom into thinking something like…
The Theory of Evolution is fraught with errors, our world screams designer, and other theories for life’s existence are far fetched and scientifically untenable – a comet or aliens bringing life, multiple universes, a cyclical universe that continually “Bangs” and “Crunches”. Why do people deny the existence of God? An Ulterior Motive I believe folks push evolution and these other theories, even…
Even though we are commanded to make disciples and Jesus gives us a simple three step method to follow, we have trouble following His command. We have trouble because we encounter barriers. The list of barriers we encounter can be a mile long. There are a lot of things that hinder us from making disciples. I can’t cover…
Christians proclaim the unthinkable. We believe that God became a man, the man Jesus Christ.God, who cannot suffer and die, becomes a man so that he can do the incomprehensible: the God-man dies. In his Son Jesus Christ, the God of life and holiness faces the reality of death and sin. What kind of God…
A lot of folks think making disciples is a complicated and difficult task. One that requires a lot of training and time. But that is not true. Training is helpful, but you don’t have to have a PHD in Biblical Studies to start making disciples. Jesus didn’t set it up that way. Instead Jesus gave…
Over the next several weeks we are going to follow the story line of Scripture from Creation to Jesus’ return in an effort to deepen our understanding of the Gospel and how Christians are to live after they have professed Christ as Lord and Savior. (Part 1, Part 2) What Does Adam and Eve Have To…
Since the beginning of the year, I have been participating in a discipleship process with Gerry Lewis from the Harvest Baptist Association – Dangerous Pastors. Part of the process was to come up with a definition of a disciples. For the last nine months or so I have been thinking about my definition. What I…
Man is always searching. Searching for happiness, understanding, knowledge, wisdom. Sadly, for most, their search will never end. That’s because they are looking in the wrong place – the world. You see, the things of this world can’t provide us with ultimate satisfaction, understanding, knowledge, or wisdom. Job Speaks Up Thankfully, someone who understands that speaks up and tells us that this…
The Word of God invites us into the unfolding cosmic drama of which we have always played a part, even without being aware of it. Our childhood experiences, triumphs, and tragedies are all part of God’s shaping of our lives, which are, more importantly, about the shaping of His story. When we understand that our…
Over the next several weeks we are going to follow the story line of Scripture from Creation to Jesus’ return in an effort to deepen our understanding of the Gospel and how Christians are to live after they have professed Christ as Lord and Savior. (Part 1) The Fall/Sin Adam and Eve continued to live…
If one wished to contend with him (God), one could not answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?— he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes the earth…
Over the years I’ve found much of what I’ve read about prayer to be unhelpful. Here’s why: Prayer is usually considered under the heaving of ‘spiritual disciplines’ which makes it the spiritual equivalent of running on a treadmill or flossing your teeth, neither of which are attractive to me. Viewing prayer purely as a discipline…
Over the next several weeks we are going to follow the story line of Scripture from Creation to Jesus’ return in an effort to deepen our understanding of the Gospel and how Christians are to live after they have professed Christ as Lord and Savior. Creation To better understand the gospel, the good news about…
What should we do when we are troubled? When we are distressed? When our emotions are running out of control? I believe we should do what Jesus did. We should pray, ask others to pray for us, and rest in God’s will. Jesus’ Enlists Others to Pray for Him In the Garden of Gethsemane, feeling…
Before Jesus was arrested and put on trial, He retired to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray with His disciples. When He enters the garden, He takes three disciples with Him further into the garden to watch and pray. Jesus Shares His Feelings As they are leaving the others, Jesus’ soul becomes sorrowful and troubled.…