As important as it is to have something to live for, we can’t overlook the need to have something to live by. We live for a purpose, a calling, an ultimate goal. We live by some kind of guiding principle, set of values, and convictions...
Years ago, I realized that I didn’t really like going to conferences related to my work. I almost gave up reading anything related to pastoring and church growth. There was one big reason for this: I wasn’t “amazing.” Listening to the experts often left me...
We have all heard that actions speak louder than words. God’s action is his word. We hear his voice by seeing his deeds. Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son Jesus to die for us while we were sinners....
Embedded in our culture is the proverb to “follow your heart.” The idea is that we are what we are, what we are is basically good, and we should let what we are take us wherever it leads. This way of living is thought to...
This Sunday at Grace we will bring our summer preaching series on prayer to a close. In June, we considered Jesus’ prayer in John 17. In July and August, we have been in the Gospel of Luke. We could talk about prayer from any book...
Jesus told his disciples that the world is a harvest field and that they are the laborers (Luke 10:1-3). We understand Jesus to mean that the church is to pray and go into the world with the gospel of the kingdom of God and call...
One morning this week, the text messages and emails started coming in early. One message was from a woman struggling both physically and emotionally. Another message was from a family on vacation who met a man I know. This man lost his wife earlier this...
Why are “momma” and “more” among the first words a child learns? The mother has fed the child. The taste of something good, from a loving mother, stirs the request for more. King David exhorted himself, and all the faithful who would read his words, to...
Just as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are involved in our salvation, so is each person of the one living and true God involved in our praying. It is only as we read the Bible that we learn to...
“Let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” -Hebrews 4:16 There is a throne of grace where God resides and people come to pray. The doorway into this throne...
