If you want to get serious about studying Scripture, you have to become serious about poetry. God chose to allow his interactions with humanity to be written in both prose and poetry. There are both histories and hymns, statements and also songs.
Redeemed, Ephesians 1:7-8a
How great and enduring should our gratitude be? It should be immeasurable and eternal. And how can we show it? By remaining at His feet, serving His cause, confessing before the world that He was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed.”
What Are You Waiting For?
The “burning bush” moment is that they have learned the good news of Jesus—that he died for their sins and was raised from the dead. Their call is to be born again into the Kingdom of God.
Building Bridges with Our Communities: Ideas for the Holidays
One idea to reach the community is through outreach events, or “bridge events.” These events are designed to invite neighbors, colleagues, and community members, giving them a chance to come through our doors. The fall and winter seasons are great times to plan some of these events.
New
We’ve all had negative experiences with all kinds of organizations. Retail is one thing, but at church we simply can’t afford to accidentally send a message that says, “We don’t care if you are here or not.” Because Jesus wants to be in relationship with us, we are naturally inspired to be in relationship with others. That requires conversation and warmly welcoming new people.
More Thinking Rarely Changes One’s Thinking
It’s my belief that more thinking rarely changes a person’s thinking. Instead, we need the experience of actually test-driving our thinking with real-life action. As we do that, we also need interaction with new circles of people with whom we want to identify and who can push us into exploring new ideas and new lines of thought.
Remember the Sabbath
For many of us, the default rule of life demands our production and performance. I fear we have allowed ourselves to accept busyness as fruitfulness, when in reality these two things don’t go hand-in-hand all the time. There are so many good things we can do for the Lord, but “good” doesn’t always equal “fruitful.”
A Strong Center and an Open Door
I don’t think there’s one “silver bullet,” as they say, but I think that we can be bolder about some of our worship practices. If we are willing to “go big” on some central practices, they can help us have both a strong center and an open door.
Called to Create—Resonance, Beauty, and the Need to Create
God’s creation reveals to us his character. It helps us to experience the God who is the Creative Creator and to reflect on his majesty. In Psalm 50:2 the psalmist writes, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” Beauty can reveal to us glimpses of the Ultimate Good, the Truly Beautiful.
Are Your Volunteers Worth Their Weight in Gold?
It is not uncommon for a church to have a lot of volunteers but only a few VOLUNTEERS, requiring ministers to constantly be in recruitment mode. And of course, constant recruiting takes an enormous amount of time.
From “Who Am I?” to “Here am I!”
“Who am I?” I am God’s! Because I am God’s, I have nothing to fear. So, when He calls, and He will call, we can approach Him in humility and gratitude and say, “Here am I, send me! Do with me what you will.”
Future Self
Focusing on our future selves is certainly a biblical concept. For instance, Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” This passage encourages believers to think beyond immediate concerns and focus instead on eternal values and future promises.
Adopted, Ephesians 1:5-6
God adopted the unadoptable—you and me. He did not care for our defects and disabilities. He just wanted to make us members of His family, to be our Father again, to make us His beloved children again.
We Need Priests, Not Prophets
What if the work in front of us is not to inspire more individuals to be prophets? What if the task ahead of us is actually priestly work – to attend to the rituals, texts, and structures that gather and define the people of God?
The Blood That Lets Us Share Our Name
Fear threatens to undermine the mission of God. How are Christians to handle this in practical ways? The Psalmist David, the Avett Brothers, and preacher Phoebe Palmer offer some advice.
Jesus and The Powers
Wright and Bird ground their response in Jesus’ primary message about the kingdom of God. They argue that in a time of fear and fragmentation, amid carnage and crises of various kinds, Jesus is King and Jesus’ kingdom remains the central object of the Church’s witness and work.
Book Review: Josh Ross’ Coreology: Six Principles for Navigating An Election Season Without Losing Our Witness
Ross’ principles are valuable and speak to the pastoral heart Ross holds towards Kingdom-people. Ross desires to remind Kingdom-people of the calling of God and the imagination of Kingdom-living available to each person in light of that calling.
Reflections from the Past that Suggest a Future
When churches preach Jesus Christ, call people to discipleship, welcome all to community and shared life, practice hospitality and care for others, then churches continually find opportunities to live into a simple Christian witness.
Self-Care or Selfish?
Your body, mind, and soul respond in gratitude when you care for them. The people in your world appreciate being around you when you are fully who you were created to be instead of a dried-up, used-up, depleted version of yourself.
Communication Lessons from my Dad
It strikes me that any one of these communication qualities that I listed is a game-changer for the people around us. There are the rare people, like my dad, who have many admirable communication habits, but if you have any one of these and are maybe working on another, then you are in a strong position to show Jesus to others.