I grew up all my life hearing the following warnings from my parents, youth pastors, and just reading my Bible about the most negative influence in my life…SIN.  “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a) “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it br ..read more

I was reading The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy R. Pearcey (bestselling author of Love Thy Body and Total Truth) and she shared a stunning story that not only put God’s transformative gospel on display, but it also highlighted the power of a godly man and husband. Nancy explains, “A godly husband takes the lead and says, like Jesus, ‘Follow me.’ If he wants a better marriage, he takes the lead in doing the emotional work and says, ‘Follow me.’ If he wants his wife to have a richer spiritual life, he deepens his own relationship with God and says, ‘Fo ..read more

If you hang around me long enough, one of the things you will discover about me is that I love to listen to music by MercyMe. Perhaps some of you are attending their concert this evening at ShoWare Center. Recently, I was listening to their song, "Better Days Coming." This is an uplifting song about persevering through trials and suffering. At one point in the song the lead singer, Bart Millard, sings, “If it’s not good, then it’s not over yet.” What a great reminder of the importance of having perspective. It got me thinking about the peace, comfort, and hope that God’s co ..read more

Have you ever taken a chronological walk with Jesus through the last week of His earthly life before He died His saving death and rose to give us His revolutionary eternal life?  Download the chronological guide below that will take you through the passion week that begins on Sunday and chronicles a harmony of the gospels reveal about our Lord’s last week culminating in His death, burial, and resurrection. The exact dates are debated, but I liked and used much of Peter L. Smith’s harmony of the gospel that he developed from his own study and examining how a numb ..read more

One of the things readily seen as you read the Scriptures is how saturated it is with calls, commands, and exhortations to love, worship, serve, fear, and obey our great God and Deliverer. But have you noticed one of the primary and common messages the Lord keeps repeating over and over again to motivate a heartfelt and grateful response?   It revolves around what God lovingly, graciously, and powerfully did for His people, and He communicated it like this: “watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deut. 6:12; Ps ..read more

As I was reading this week in Numbers 13–14, I was drawn to the profound influence of the words “see,“ saw,” and “sight.”   God had promised to give His people (Israel) the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. He told Moses to select a leader from each one of the 12 tribes of Israel to “spy out the land of Canaan” and watch this: “SEE” what the land is like (“good or bad…fat or lean…trees or not”), what the people were like (“strong or weak…few or many”), how the cities were in which they lived (“open camps or with fortifications”), and to “get some of the fruit of the ..read more

Recently, I listened to the late Steve Jobs commencement address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005. Steven Paul Jobs was best known for co-founding the Apple Inc, NeXT and was the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar. He died at age 56 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. The following is an excerpt from one of three stories he told. Story one was about connecting the dots. Story two was about love and loss and his third and final story was about death (cited below). You can read the entire address here, "You've Got to Find What You Love".   “My third story is abo ..read more

I closed my message this past Sunday with the following citation from Brett McCracken’s book (Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church) that shows how different and strange and unwelcome historic Christianity is in our culture as it subverts all the current norms. In a post-Christian & rapidly secularizing culture, deconstructing isn’t a radical act. It’s just a normal thing that more and more people do. In a “believe in yourself” world, Christianity calls you to deny yourself (Matt. 16:24) and take up your cross (Luke 14:27). In a “you do you” world that emphasizes expressive indiv ..read more

It is no surprise that the greatest organization on the face of the earth, the church, would be beset with all sorts of struggles, weaknesses, and imperfections in its earthly expression. Why? Simply because you and I are part of it. Enough said.   But oh, how I love the church! There is nothing like her in terms of her origin (founded by our Creator, Redeemer, and King Jesus), her mission (to provide the ultimate remedy of life for our ultimate disease of sin), and her viability (she survives and thrives beyond any and all obstacle or opposition).   At the end of the message, I shar ..read more

One of the many remarkable attributes of our Lord and Savior is this: He is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Truly amazing, but have you noticed how these attributes tend to be out of sync in our lives? I know it happens to me.   Like me, we have all been called to “walk as He walked” (1 John 2:6), to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21) because we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). The Lord desires that we be “full of grace and truth,” not bent toward truth OR grace.   Both are essential. You can’t fully understand the gift of grace withou ..read more