The Gospel Is for Everybody

Leave a comment

This week we are kicking off a brand-new teaching series. God has been doing a pretty incredible work at my church. We are experiencing explosive growth thanks to the movement of His Spirit in our midst. We are also on the cusp of breaking ground on an expansion and renovation of our current facilities. It’s a pretty exciting time, and we are most definitely going somewhere. But in order to make sure we are truly heading in the right direction, we need to remember who God made us to be. For the next three weeks, we are going to be explore afresh the basic elements of our identity as a church. Thanks for coming along for this journey with us.

The Gospel Is for Everybody

Social media can be a great tool for the advancement of the Gospel. But social media can also be a place where people vent their spleen without really thinking through what the full consequences of their words might be. I won’t ask you to raise your hand if you’ve ever posted something you later wish you hadn’t and even perhaps had to take down because of the negative impact it was having. And the thing is, because none of us are particularly disciplined with our words on a good day—whether they are coming from our mouths or our fingers—all of us are susceptible to this kind of thing. Even pastors. 

Read the rest…
A person sits across a table from a wise, caring mentor figure who is speaking earnestly and gesturing gently. The seated person has their arms crossed, jaw set, eyes slightly averted — clearly hearing the words but internally resisting them. Warm, soft lighting. The mood is intimate and a little uncomfortable. The advice-giver's expression is kind, not harsh. Painterly, editorial illustration style with muted warm tones and a slight chiaroscuro quality. No text.

The Offense of Good Advice

Leave a comment

“Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, ‘Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your skin will be restored and you will be clean.’ But Naaman got angry and left, saying, ‘I was telling myself: He will surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the skin disease. Aren’t Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and left in a rage.” (2 Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about good advice. When we set out accomplish we haven’t done before and aren’t totally sure how to do it, it’s always a good idea to seek out good and wise counsel from someone who has been there before. The trouble with good advice, though, is that just because a particular bit of advice is good, doesn’t mean we necessarily like it or want to hear it. Let’s reflect for a little while today about a story when someone got good advice they didn’t like, and what wisdom that might have to offer us.

Read the rest…
Hiker choosing between trails marked “EASY PATH” and “HARDER PATH”

A Choice of Two Paths

Leave a comment

“Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. A wise heart accepts commands, but foolish lips will be destroyed. The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out. A sly wink of the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will be destroyed.”(Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

While the world loves to paint with shades of gray, in the final analysis, there will be two kinds of people in this world: the righteous and the wicked. Proverbs not only offers counsel for how to be one instead of the other, it furnishes numerous examples of the outcomes one will experience or cause to be experienced versus the other. Now, the Gospel helps us paint with more nuance than the Old Testament sometimes does, but still, learning to recognize the path that will lead to one end and the path that will lead to the other is worthwhile. Let’s take a look at some pointers in this passage.

Read the rest…
Woman writing notes beside open books at a home study table

Wisdom for the Road

Leave a comment

“Solomon’s proverbs: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother. Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death. The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry, but he denies the wicked what they crave. Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches. The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.” (Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Today we start a new section in our journey through Proverbs. We have made it through the lengthy opening section featuring Solomon offering wise counsel to his children. That section flowed fairly smoothly and there was a significant amount of continuity from one verse to the next. This next section has us entering the rhetorical territory we typically associate with Proverbs. For the next few weeks, we are going to be working our way through individual proverbs. Rather than taking one proverb at a time each day, though, which might take us the next couple of years, we’ll take a look at them in blocks. Some will invite longer reflection than others, but all of them invite us to consider what it looks like to live in the righteousness of God. Let’s get started.

Read the rest…
Tired man holding a plug beside an outlet; forehead overlay reads “5/4”

Recharging Your Batteries

Leave a comment

Here’s a blast from the past today while I’m away at a conference. Interestingly, the posts from this same day in 2020 and 2021 were both from Mark – the beginning and the end of the Gospel. For a day when I’m at a conference to focus in on learning and recharging, this post seemed rather appropriate. When Jesus wanted to recharge His batteries, there was one thing He turned to more than any other. Let’s take a look at what this was and what it means for us.

Read the rest…