Steps to Blessing: Step 2: Recognize, Part 2
Steps to Blessing: Step 2: Recognize, Part 1
People today want to be spiritual. They want to get in touch with a higher power, they believe in transcendence, they want connection with something out there. But Jesus says we must realize we are not spiritual at all.
Steps to Blessing: Step 1: Listen
We need to recapture the idea of the power and authority of Jesus' Word in church life. That is what will feed people; that is what will grow people. And the lack of it is why we have nominal Christianity—people aren't being fed.
Confess, Part 2
Atonement is made at the point of confession. When we sin, grace abounds. Where we fail, mercy thrives. When we are broken, healing comes. God's grace and mercy comes to the point of our real need and brings healing.
Confess, Part 1
When you have a small god people look big. You fear being open about who you are because you care about what others think. The only way to have people be real about who they are is to have them be real about who God is. As you center your life on God, you find fulfillment, integrity, and authenticity.
Christ's Countercultural Church: A Better Mountain
Consumeristic Christianity finds people choosing a different church just because they don't like the music. When we talk about worship, our goal is to forget about the technicalities of music and actually worship God.
Christ's Countercultural Church: A Better Temple, Part 2
What do you think of when you think of church? Perhaps you just can't see that it's going to make any real difference in the world in the times we live in. Sometimes we compartmentalize God from the rest of our lives. But church is a mission to the world.
Christ's Countercultural Church: A Better Temple, Part 1
Some of you are disappointed by church. To be honest, you would rather play golf on Sunday morning. We all need to be called back to a vision of what the point of church is.
My Journey: The End of the Journey
Often we start off on some path in life, and in the end we have a sense that it was not as good as we had hoped it would be. Even the best of human journeys ends with a sense of mild disappointment. But we have a lot to look forward to in the future in God's purpose being fulfilled in us.
My Journey: The Secret of Teamwork, Part 2
The blessing of unity is a great pleasure, and there's really no other experience like it. When you're united with God's people, when you're on a team that's centered on Christ, you discover the secret of teamwork.
My Journey: The Secret of Teamwork, Part 1
Unity has its origin high up and then descends. Our own human attempts don't create unity; ultimately unity comes from God. We are not all the same, but we can experience successful teamwork through Him.