christianity

Until we are trained, then regardless of our standing as believers, our false self will be the voice that speaks most of the time about most things. Complaining, accusing, labeling, judging, being impatient and frustrated, name calling, overdramatizing, getting angry and vengeful—all are a part of false self’s commentary.

This is why Jesus healed people. His healings weren’t stunts. They were a preview of coming attractions.

Closely related to narration is description. With this form of explanation, a preacher describes a word, a scene, a character, or a situation in such a way that listeners are better able to understand a text.

How about you? Has the mission of God translated into a specific vision for your life? Do you, like Paul, have a personal ministry ambition? Through his Spirit, God invites you to join the purposes for which he has created you specifically (Eph. 2:10). When you grasp this, the Great Commission becomes a focused burden for some person or group of

I’ve seen the “new” churches that proclaim, “We aren’t your Grandma’s church,” but still they keep the two-by-four in the corner to coax a man into submission. Grandma may have some new clothes, make her music loud and upbeat, and allow you to check the ties and dress shoes at the door, but it’s still her church when the core message delivered to

Examples of those wolves might be materialism, sensuality, pluralism, relativism, and the panoply of sins flowing from them. In a culture saturated with these destructive values, the sheep not only need to be warned about the dangers but equipped to stand against them.

I’ve heard them say over and over, “Love shouldn’t be this hard; it should come naturally.” In response, I always say something like, “Why believe that? Would someone who wants to play professional baseball say, ‘It shouldn’t be so hard to hit a fastball?’

If I hadn’t written down my reflections, I wouldn’t have known what God was teaching me. By the time I was finished, I knew my part in God’s play. It was offstage in a corner, waiting. Not particularly glamorous but crystal clear. Opening my heart up for God to speak to me through his Word opened the door to repentance. My prayer time itself was a

Our communities should be the most palpable expression of the gospel within the church.