All (Page 2) Articles 2015 Archives

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Holiday Trifecta

Putting the most into the holidays

So as the schedules, demands and pressures of the Holiday Trifecta invade your world, house and family, allow me to offer a short blessing to you and all whom you hold dear

No Longer Any Sea

The glorious future when the sea is no more!

Phil Ware concludes his 10 part series on "Saved at Sea" dealing with sea stories in the Bible and how God has always saved his people, this time focusing on the ultimate saved at sea story, Revelation 21:1-5

Never Be Afraid to Listen!

when we’re looking for a brave way to heal our relationships, our hearts & the internet!

Ann Voskamp reminds us that there is no harm in just listening, and there can be great healing and hope and transformation.

Spirits, Demons, and the One Greater than Them All

Do spooky things scare you?

There are scary things in this world, but we need not fear any of them. The one who is in us is greater than the powers of this world.

Re-Mastered!

What is really mastering us?

Phil Ware gets personal about the idols in his life and wanting to be re-Mastered by Jesus.

How to Discredit Christianity

Want to know how to make unbelievers disbelieve even more?

Rubel Shelly reminds us that wild predictions about Jesus' return on specific dates often are used by sceptics to discredit Christianity.

What in the World Is Going On?

Every day the news is filled with tragedy. How are we supposed to survive?

Jesus has overcome the world. He is the way through disaster, death, pain, and evil.

Go Fast!

Life does 'go fast' so make the moments count and live for your grandchildren to pass on faith!

Phil Ware talks about his NASCAR Experience and his father and passing on faith to future generations.

Think You Are a 'Hopeless Case'?

The Father is looking to use you, no matter how unlikely it seems possible!

Rubel Shelley reminds us that God does his best work through the most unlikely of people.

Not Enough

What you have to offer isn't enough

What I have to offer God isn't enough. But what God can do with what I offer is more than enough. He can take my unholy life and make it right. He can take my weak faith and help me overcome. He can take my vulnerable humanity and let me say no to tempta

Tweeting Heaven

When's the last time you used your divine Twitter account?

Phil Ware reminds us that drive-by prayers and tweeting heaven and tweet prayers are ways to include God in all of our everyday activities and build upon our life of prayer.

The Most Important Thing to Know

With all the information in the Bible, what is the most important thing to know?

The Bible itself says this is the most important thing to know: Jesus died for your sins and was raised on the third day.

Neglected Expeditions

What are we forgetting before we try our ultimate ascent?

Phil Ware reminds us that in a search for a new minister, especially a preacher or preaching minister, that we need to know our specific mission as a congregation.

Let it Begin with Me!

What are we to do with such great human need and such great risk?

Phillip Morrison is back as our conscience asking us about how we sort through the refugee crisis in Syria and what are we going to do about it.

Yogi and Red Trucks

Don't you have any of those red trucks to send?

Rubel Shelly reminds us of the character who was Yogi Berra and reminds us that we need to be certain about our communication.

The Last Letter

Death is done for

Today, now, as our world continues to spiral from disaster to warfare, to inhumanity, we must also proclaim the Urgently Important: that our Savior, Jesus Christ, has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.

A Way Through the Ice Fall

How do we avoid magical thinking and shortcuts that dangerously risk our doom?

Phil Ware continues his series of articles on churches facing the challenges of the interim season and uses the imagery of high mountain climbing to help us appreciate the challenges.

Golden Rule, Golden Door!

Some connections God makes inescapable no matter how costly obedience may be!

Phillip Morrison reminds us of the need to be open-hearted to the refugee crisis both as Americans and as Christians and to see this as a moral imperative.

'What prevents me from being baptized?'

What stands between you and the water?

The Bible says the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized and went on his way rejoicing. You can too. It was good news for the Ethiopian. It's good news for us. Everyone who is willing to put their faith in Jesus may come to him.

Some Mountains Matter More

So how do we know our mountains of greatest importance?

Phil Ware continues his series on knowing the mountains on which we are willing to die -- both doctrinal and missional mountains of significance.

Sin and Grace

Do we really need either of these? Absolutely yes!

Rubel Shelly writes about Pope Francis and the year of pardon for abortion and other sins that is available and how the world doesn't seem to get sin and wrong doing and guilt.

Following Jesus Is Not About You

Making a decision to follow Jesus is really not about you at all.

The decision to follow Jesus is not about you. If anything, it is about rejecting yourself.

Willing to Die on This Mountain

What are the mountains you would die on for what you believe and what you are called to do?

Phil Ware talks about finding our theological and missional mountains and how important it is to know them if you are going to call a minister with whom to partner.

Your Default Face

What do you look like when you are not trying look any certain way?

Deonna Shake uses her vast coaching and playing experience to introduce a key concept called "default face" and reminds us that how we carry ourselves says a lot about us.

The Immovable Ladder

The ladder has been there since the 18th century!

A ladder sits outside a window of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The ladder has been in place for over 250 years; there are writings from the 18th century that mention it. No one really knows where it came from. Nobody uses it. The ladder