Bob Briner, author of Roaring Lambs and a friend of Grace Community Church, used to say, "God's power to preserve is greater than Satan's power to corrupt." Bob would say that when he was talking about how Christians are reluctant and afraid to associate with the...
We hold martyrs in high regard. Laying down one's life for Jesus' sake is in our minds the highest form of self-denial. But are there not other forms of suffering for Jesus' sake? Does not Jesus' call to "deny yourself, take up your cross, and...
We fallen humans are full of wrongly ordered desires. We Christians are still humans and we still struggle with wrongly ordered desires. These desires are for things that are not God's will for our lives. This struggle is called temptation. Being a Christian...
Two obvious reasons to affirm marriage as the union of a man and a woman include loyalty to Jesus and faithfulness to the Bible passages about marriage. But there is another reason: for the clarity of the gospel. The one human relationship given to us to...
A few years after I became a Christian, a friend asked me, "Have you always been this way?" He meant had I always been a Christian, pursuing spiritual things. I assured him that I had not! In fact, I had been pursuing my thing. So, how...
Each January many people in America observe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. While affirming the dignity and value of human life, we have also mourned the loss of over 55 million lives through abortion since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade (1973) that...
Whenever Christians talk about the culture, the conversation can go in one of two directions. We can talk about how bad the culture is and how we should stay as far away from it as possible. Or, we can talk about how much we need...
We are on the journey through 1 Corinthians. Along the way we expect to deal with many of the issues that can trouble Christians and local congregations. This Sunday we will hear about divisions in the church. 1 Corinthians is not all about problems. Along the...
Church Problems and Promises in 1 Corinthians Going to church after the Christmas and New Year holidays feels like having the family home for a meal. I look forward to having us all home and around the table of grace as we worship together this Sunday. This...
"Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off." - Proverbs 23:18 Congregation, I prayed for us this morning. I prayed that we would see the future as God sees it and have hope. Why this prayer? Because depression, anxiety, and other sorts...
