christianity

In fact, I’m starting to think that if our only motives for moving toward the mess are that we feel we should go or ought to go, maybe it would be better if we didn’t go at all. I believe Jesus alluded to this when he said it is better to be cold than lukewarm.

The same authority vacuum exists for textual sermons that include redemptive truth through analogy, illustration, or addition. An analogy or illustration may well bring to mind an aspect of the redeeming work of God, which gives entry to a redemptive focus.

What better way to grab people’s attention than to lean into the controversy in the text?

If we want a renewed mind, we must saturate ourselves in the Word of God.

A man will open his heart over a cigar, unlike any other setting. He will say things with a brother around a fire pit that he would never say in a coffee shop around mixed company. The weight in the hand, the smoke rising, the conversation forming. “Let’s grab a stogie” is often code for "let me bare my soul".

A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.

Second, we need to be honest about what the Bible does not say regarding the practical expressions of masculinity and femininity. For example, there is no biblically prescribed initiation into manhood or womanhood, despite what certain books in the Christian bookstore might say.

This is how I instinctively approach everything because I am confident in my own abilities. This is even true in my work of teaching people about prayer. Even though I lead prayer seminars and wrote a study on prayer, up until a year ago, it never occurred to me to pray systematically and regularly for our prayer ministry.

‘As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord God” (Ezek. 34:31). It is always incumbent upon the people of God to remember that he is not only their shepherd, but that he is the Lord God.