If following Jesus is good, and we believe it is, then the loving, compassionate thing to do is to share that goodness with others. If what Jesus teaches is true, and we believe it is, then the implications of this life upon the next are hugely significant. Jesus teaches that hell exists and […]

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” said Jesus of himself. Service is a core aspect of the life of Christ and the life of anyone who would follow him. When a person comes to […]

God has given us knowledge and power through Jesus Christ, and has blessed us with physical bodies that can do many wonderful things. However, with these blessings comes great responsibility. We are called to control ourselves so as to fight the temptations of Satan and grow into more mature Christ followers.
An […]

Gentleness can be defined as withholding one’s power even when using such power is justified. This attribute is exemplified in Jesus Christ. He is fully God, and when He walked the earth as a man, he could’ve destroyed His enemies. However, He withheld that power and treated His accusers in a gentle […]

I’ve always hated that question, “Are you one of those people who takes the Bible literally?” I think what people mean by that is something like, “Did you chuck your brain so you could mindlessly follow some wacko who wrote in a day when they didn’t even use last names?” I’d like to […]

When we talk about stewardship in the church, we are talking about what we do with what we have, whether it be money, natural resources, our gifts, etc. It is very easy to become selfish with these things, but Jesus calls us to a different path. The only way to affect change in […]

God loves to get things done through people. We often want spiritual growth to fall out of the sky but, more often, God’s preferred delivery method is the community of faith around us. I know that is a bummer for some of us… we wish we could sail off to “(fill in your […]

Two metaphors unlock our understanding of God’s word and its role in our lives.  Isaiah says it is like “rain” that enters the parched earth causing it to flourish, yielding seed for the sower and grain for the eater.  If our souls are parched, the word of God quenches.  Beautiful.  Secondly, Peter calls God’s word […]

Prayer is an opportunity to sit down with the Creator of the universe, not merely some rote chore to be “performed” before each meal. Nowhere else in the world do we get this kind of easy access to power! The first step in developing a healthy prayer life is seeing it as a […]

We often think of patience as being able to wait for something - delaying gratification. However, the word means more than that. Patience is the bearing of annoyance, pain, or misfortune without complaint or irritation; quiet and steady perseverance.
Patience is a key component to spiritual growth, as stated in James 1:2-4:
“2 Consider it […]