The Place of Prayer
How do we go about the task of making disciples among our families, our neighbors, our acquaintances? When Jesus sent out the twelve on their first mission, He gave them a pattern to follow that we can adapt for our mission today. It involves some simple, clear steps that empower us to know where to invest our energies and what to do when people are not open.
We Get To…
I hear many people talking about Jesus coming back and I wonder about the motivation. Why do they want Him to return? If He did return soon, where would He find our hearts? What would He find me busy doing?
Enough!
Do you ever become so familiar with something that it loses its effect on you? Many of us have heard the Gospel, the good news, so many times that we can forget how amazing it really is when a life is transformed by Jesus. This week we’ll look at a snapshot of a woman who is used by God to bring many in a town to faith in Jesus. It’s a familiar story, but as we unpack it this week, we hope to have our hearts softened and opened to the wonder of the Gospel again.
How Do We Go from a Consuming Christian to a Producing Christian?
This week through “Zume” and scripture we will take a look at how we go from being a consuming Christian to being a producer. We will compare and contrast the difference between a comfortable Christian life and a productive Christian life. Are you pursuing comfort? Or are you embracing suffering and persecution like Christ calls us to?
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
We close out our series “Unleashed” by looking at two necessary parts of the process: gifts complimenting and sharpening each other, and encouragement building us up when challenges come. In the midst of a basketball game, I made a move, and a lone, strong voice acknowledged it and encouraged me to make the layup (which I did not always do!).
Quiet Leadership
Most every successful writer, athlete, or entertainer will cite one or two people who were catalytic in launching their careers. In family histories, most of us have “moments” that were impactful or family members who did something to inspire or encourage us. In the journey of faith, each of us has the power and potential of being that person for someone else.
Kernels
A parent pulls their child out of the path of an out-of-control car, saving the child but losing their life. Nothing is ever said about it. A close friend has information that would save the life of their friend, but they remain silent. A person receives the greatest gift they could ever receive but says nothing. What is wrong with these pictures? It would be almost impossible to remain silent in these scenarios. And it is impossible for us to remain silent if we truly have seen and heard Jesus.
The Heart of the Spirit
Recently, I viewed a post where the speaker they heard “brought the heat.” He was talking about inspiration. But what Jesus did in sending the Spirit was far more. Flames came, but this heat isn’t periodic, or a one and done. This is sustaining fire. We will see how as we continue our “Unleashed” series.
The Movement Begins
The early church was powerful in word and deed. Why? Not because of organization or systems or methods. Power comes from somewhere else. Really from Someone else! We will see how Jesus began the movement that changed all of history. And it is still happening today.
Snapshot: Where We Are
Before we trace the Spirit-empowered movement, we are going to take time to get a snapshot of where we are as a church right now. God has been answering our prayers and we want to take time to thank Him and to discuss the metrics of success in ministry today.
Christmas Day Family Devotional
A short devotional to use at home with your family as you celebrate Christmas Day.
Telling About the Gift
It is unexpected to get an angelic visit. It is unexpected to find a baby in a barn, laying in a feeding trough. It is unexpected when you are at the bottom of the social ladder to get an invitation to a royal birth. But that is how God rolls. We can find His Son in the unexpected.
Rewarding Expectation
It's amazing what you can learn if you hang around a place for a time and just listen. Opinions, gossip, ideas, predictions. In a world that was filled with the anticipation of a Messiah coming, what do you think you might have heard if you were hanging around the Temple, the religious center, all the time? We will trace the story of one such person, Anna. She was old but her heart was young and hungry.
Expecting Comfort
Most of us suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). We hear about good things that happen for or to other people and wonder why they experience those things, but we haven’t yet. What if there was a way to position ourselves to receive those kinds of opportunities? There is, and we will find the secret as we continue our series “Expecting Jesus in the Unexpected” this weekend.
Expecting When God Seems Silent
Traveling across Greece recently, we saw something that baffled us: fields of cotton. You expect to see cotton in the southern U.S. or in warmer climates across the world. But not in mountainous Greece. You do not expect that. “Expecting Jesus in the Unexpected” is the name of our new series. It will chronicle the accounts of people who found something in unexpected places or at unexpected times. And it encourages us to expect amazing things in our unexpected.
Let Go of the Rat Race of Religion
Throughout this “I Choose” series we have been talking about sacrifice. We’ve talked about when we choose to sacrifice things, God seems to move. It would be easy to associate these sacrifices with religion, but in this final week of the series we will make sure that we all understand that it is not about religion but a relationship with Jesus.
Taking Responsibility for Every Person
Do you remember those school projects where one person took responsibility for it and the rest were along for the ride? Which one were you? What I observe is that in the church today, it is more likely for many of us to be those who are just along for the ride and not the ones who are taking responsibility for making disciples. The apostle Paul challenged Timothy to take responsibility in 2 Timothy 4.
Series of Choices
Life is a series of choices. And the cumulative effect of every smaller, wise choice is a big outcome. Such is our story this week. One man makes the choice to adopt his orphaned cousin. He mentors her, guides her, encourages her. He acts justly and righteously. And the impact? God’s people are spared, and their influence broadened.