Every other month we rally the men of our church together where we spend time talking about how to be faithful to Jesus in the areas of marriage, parenting and church-life. We’re currently reading through D. A. Carson’s A Call to Spiritual Reformation. As someone who is always interested in seeing how people invest, train and equip…
Two paragraphs in Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus give us a powerful profile for testing our maturity levels in Christ (1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-10). The following list depicts spiritual qualifications from both letters: Overall spiritual maturity (a well-rounded man) Above reproach (a man of good reputation) The husband of one wife (morally pure/faithful)…
Here’s a good word from R. C. Sproul in Intimate Marriage. In every single marriage that ends in disaster, some stupid decisions were made with respect to God’s regulations. If God’s regulations were followed scrupulously, there would not only be no divorce, there would be no unhappy marriage. To violate the regulations of God is not…
If you were to explain to someone how to find a church, what would you say and where in the world would you start? Is finding a church family a lot like some of the criteria we put forth when looking to date someone? “Yes, I would like a church that is witty, always available…
1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the…
Here’s five principles from J. Mack Stiles’ book Marks of the Messenger on biblical conversion that must be understood which were very instructive: Conversion is required: Romans 16:5 (1st converts in Asia); Acts 15:3 (joyful report of conversions); John 3:3 (Jesus made it clear that you can’t enter into the Kingdom of God [Jesus isn’t your…
FOUNDATION FOR RIGHT PERSPECTIVES Proverbs 1: 7 reads in full, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Knowledge as used here is more than an accumulation of information. It involves the ability to view that information with the right perspective and to use it for its…
This past January the 17th through the 18th our elders get away for a couple of days to have a retreat where we spend a lot of time talking about mission; we discuss where we are, where we’re going and what we need to do to get there, as well as what we’re doing that…
The first line of Paul David Tripp’s chapter in the book On Anger caught my attention and deeply resonated with me heart. He said, You will never have a relationship with another person that is free of conflict. You will always find yourself in moments of disagreement, even in the best of relationships. Further, unity…
This morning in my devotion time I read Matthew 8. Within this chapter is the famous encounter Jesus has with the wind and the rain telling them to be quiet, as well as the healing of a leper. In the middle of the chapter is Jesus’ interaction with a centurion, which is a Roman soldier.…
