On 9/8/13 we gave our congregation money to go and be generous. We called it a "reverse offering" and our goal was to jumpstart generosity in our community. One-time generosity takes courage and becoming generous requires a change of heart, so we thought we would break down the primary barrier to generosity - feeling like
I know a post on guns seems late. In a world where news comes to us so quickly, our memories get shorter and shorter. Perhaps we could not be so easily distracted and continue to wrestle with the events at Sandy Hook. Here are my thoughts on guns and gun control. When gun control was
Tragedy always hurts more when it happens to our children. Hundreds of kids went to school today with their innocence in tact. They are leaving school today with a wound they will carry the rest of their lives. The question everyone is asking is "Why?" What causes someone to do something so evil, so horrific,
You have a lot of options available to you when you need to communicate. You can text, call, meet face-to-face, write on a Facebook wall, tweet, or email. All of these are legitimate forms of communication, but they aren't equal. A text is not equal to a phone call. An email isn't the same thing
Theatre shootings. Job loss. Infertility. Breakups. Life is messy. Life is chaotic. But, where does all this chaos come from? Is it all God's will? Is everything as God intends? Was it God's plan that you have that miscarriage? Is God causing your teenage daughter to rebel just to bring some higher good out of
People are having sex all over the place. They aren't just talking about it. They aren't just pretending to have it. They are actually doing it. A February 2012 article in Relevant Magazine reported that 80% of unmarried Christian evangelicals between ages 18-29 have already had sex....as in, lost their virginity. So is waiting for
Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." If you are anything like me sometimes there is a drought in your spiritual life. The Bible seems boring (like your reading plan has you working through Leviticus). Church doesn't excite you (how many times are we
All of us want our lives to stand for something. We want to leave a legacy. We want to accomplish something significant. Steve Jobs described something all off us feel we he said he just wants to "put a dent in the universe." We don't want to be invisible to the world - or even
In recent sermons I have talked about how God's new creation is bursting forth right in the middle of this one. In other words, the biblical story is not headed toward the destruction of earth in favor of existence some other place. Rather, God is working to restore and redeem this world and he is
The Christian is usually very quick to admit their sin. "I struggle with lust." "I'm full of pride." "Anger is stealing my victory in Christ." There is, however, a sin that hides itself from the victim - greed. We are hidden from our greed because we tend to live in a particular socioeconomic bracket. Once
