Blog (Page 6)

“Israel ate the meat of a dumb lamb to complete the Passover. Having done so, they smeared their doorposts with blood and laughed at the destroyer.” – Athanasius 4th Century Amidst the pain Of suffering Of deceit Of injustice Of sorrow I Stand Behind the Blood And proclaim: “You can kill my body but you cannot have my soul. I am purchased by the Redeemer who Rose Again. And when sin’s tantrum is finally exhausted I will stand with my…

During Bonus Round on Sunday, the kids will make a book about the sermon series that we have just finished. Read the book together, and ask your child to tell you more about each of the 8 meals from the book of Luke. Read the passages from the Bible to put each story in context. Thay will learn about two disciples who met the resurrected Jesus while taking a long walk from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. Take a…

A four-week series of Sunday morning classes is headed our way.  Starting the Sunday after Easter, 4/15, and running through 5/6, all kids will be able to join in on a collection of fun elective style classes.  The courses will include:  cooking, babysitting certification, sports, dancing, and missions themed crafts.  There will be NO charge to participate!  Each class will be held from 9:00 to 9:45 in rooms or outdoor spaces through out our location.  And, parents will be able…

  Why are Christians failing to pass-on the Faith even to our own children? The value of one generation sharing the story of God with the next is one of the highest in scripture. But we don’t do this well. I think one of the reasons we often strike out here is that we fail to appreciate our children’s capacity for spiritual insight. We dumb down spiritual mystery so dramatically that our stories lose their capacity to captivate.   Source:…

  Why are Christians failing to pass-on the Faith even to our own children? The value of one generation sharing the story of God with the next is one of the highest in scripture. But we don’t do this well. I think one of the reasons we often strike out here is that we fail to appreciate our children’s capacity for spiritual insight. We dumb down spiritual mystery so dramatically that our stories lose their capacity to captivate.   Source:…

In the midst of listening to this week’s sermon, I thought about certain attitudes we see in our culture. For some reason, we have adopted this idea that everything has to be positively phrased. Telling people “no” is deemed judgmental. Some might say it infringes on our freedoms. Then the Ten Commandments were mentioned. I could hear people I know complaining about the negative nature of these rules. Eight out of the ten tell us what not to do.  Source: New…

The Feeding of the 5000 is truly an exciting example of our partnership with Jesus in the restoration of this world. Author and speaker, Jill Briscoe, put it this way, “I’ve got a hunch Jesus wants my lunch.” Whatever we have to give, He wants it. He invites us to give all we have no matter how insignificant we think it may be and use it for the good of others. The disciples quickly identify the need to feed the…

Are you INTENTIONALLY working on your relationship with God? Need some help in getting started? Many people make the decision to engage in Spiritual Disciplines as a way of getting closer to God. Spiritual disciplines are ways we open ourselves to God. They help to bring us to the place of honesty, grace, and soul transformation. Jesus modeled living in a “rhythm of life“, using spiritual practices to cultivate his intimacy with the Father. Dallas Willard teaches that it’s important…

As our community continues this new series studying the meals in Luke, it is important that we recognize the amazing ministry Jesus carries out as he eats with different groups of people. In His gentle yet revolutionary way, he changes everything in their lives. He accepts the unaccepted. He loves the unlovely. He is kind to the unkind and fair to the unfair. He forgives the unforgivable in society’s eyes. No one is out of His reach. He loves each…

Are you looking for a great devotional tool to use with your children 10 and under to inspire their journey with Jesus? I have a great book that I have used with my kids that has come to be considered a children’s Christian classic. Step into the Bible- 100 Bible Stories for Family Devotions by Ruth Graham. This book introduces you and your children to the basic doctrines, about what it means to obey God, what original sin is, why Christ…

Sunday I asked our community why, even though we believe in living a life of compassion, we seldom actually engage in helping others in practical ways. And the one reason on which I focused was the misunderstanding that in order to help others, you, yourself, need to be all healed up. While I think that specific misunderstanding is common, it’s not the reason that most-often holds me back. No, what usually keeps me from helping my neighbor is the nearly…

Last Sunday I asked our community why compassion so often slips off our priority lists. It’s an interesting question, especially to a church community like ours, because there’s already such a deep level of buy-in on helping others. We already believe we should serve this city. We already want to change the world. But, even we – who are already convinced – rarely do anything. Why is that? The reason I focused on Sunday is the misunderstanding that we need…