Worldly Leaders It seems reasonable to assume that everyone would prefer a leader a lot like themselves. However, I don’t believe that is actually true. Sure, most people would prefer being the one in charge. It becomes different when it’s just someone like them in charge. Ask people what they would do if they were…
Appointing Elders
The Focus of Missions I have been in many services where a visiting missionary has given presentations. Unfortunately, the presentations often largely have to do with the exciting events they hosted and the finale is how many people they got to pray a prayer or sign a statement about committing to Jesus. They may also…
Judgmental Sojourner
Sodom Most are probably somewhat familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was a place so wicked that God destroyed the entire area (with 2 major cities). Abraham even pleaded with God that the city not be destroyed so utterly if there were basically any righteous people found there. It would have only…
The Way and Guide
The Thief “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. John 10:1 In this parable, there’s a flock of sheep being kept in an enclosure. Sheep can’t live there. They need to be…
Spiritual Fitness
Godly Health Throughout my life, I’ve encountered fanatics from many exercise trends. From Tae Bo to CrossFit, people swore they found the secret recipe to strength and health. In reality, they were all effective because they got people excited about getting up and doing something physical. While there may be some advantages of one over…
Law For The Lawless
Legalism Charges of legalism are common among both believers and the world. Often the term is misused, but it is an important one to understand. The legalist thinks that righteousness can be summarized as a list of dos and don’ts. If you do this list and refrain from doing anything on that list, you’ll be…
Target Acquired
Weapon of War One of the best known passages on spiritual warfare can be found in Ephesians 6. Here Paul goes through the various pieces of armor a soldier of his time would have put on himself to engage in warfare. He encourages believers to put on truth (belt), righteousness(breastplate), the gospel(sandals), faith(shield), salvation(helmet), and,…
Jesus’s Love
Sacrificial Love The most extreme example of the love that Jesus had for his people was that he suffered the punishment of death for the sins they had committed. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 However, another example of that extreme love came…
Repentant Atonement
Unintentional Sin Throughout the Old Testament, we find instructions regarding sacrifice. There are many kinds of sacrifice. Some were for thanksgiving others for fellowship. Probably the most well known sacrifice, however, is the sacrifices for sins. There are many places in scripture that reference these sacrifices and in many of them, there is a constant…
Unfinished Church
What The Church Does If you ask the average American Christian what the mission of the church is, most would tell you the commission Christ gave his church after the resurrection: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all…