Articles Tagged 'Own'

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People Count Most

How much stuff do you own and have in your garage?

Stuff enslaves us rather than blesses us and people count most in our lives.

When Endings Are Complicated, God Is Still Gracious

What do you do when the endings are not always happy ones?

Ron Rose reminds us that not all faith stories have happy endings and that sometimes we have to wade on through tragedy with faith.

Apples in Autumn

So many good things in fall!

Katha Winther talks about the good gifts of autumn and the signs of the fall season.

What Jesus Can't Do!

Why did Mark include it in his gospel? After all, his gospel is the shortest and most compact story of Jesus among the four gospels!

Phil Ware looks at Mark 6:1-6 and reminds us that this story is for us because we are Jesus' family, relatives, and hometown!

Affirming Their Best and Not Giving Up in Their Stumbles

I can't help but believe that every time Peter heard a rooster crow, he also remembered the Lord's words of affirmation and assurance.

Phil Ware reminds us that Jesus affirmed Peter's value and his return to useful service BEFORE Peter's stumbling denials by the fire.

My One Thing!

The God who invented time is right here with me—in the room. Sometimes I have to take a deep breath to remember that.

Ron Rose reminds us that the key to getting things done on our huge to-do list is to take it to God and then have Him help us to one thing, and do it right!

ToGather: The Path of the Wind (May 15, 2022)

While the glorious magnificence of God is largely unknowable, the Creator has left his fingerprints on his creation and longs for us to seek after him and come to know him.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to lead us to worship God in his magnificence and greatness.

God Resists the Proud

Pride comes at a high price, my friend. Don’t pay it.

Max Lucado reminds us of the high price of our pride.

What Do We Do About Leadership Abuse?

The description of the Good Shepherd in John 10 aligns beautifully with Jesus' definition of serving and giving himself to bless us in Mark 10.

Phil Ware continues his thoughts on becoming JesuShaped disciples, this week focusing on the horrors of the litany of spiritual abuse cases in the news and how different they are from Jesus’ definition of a JesuShaped leader and godly shepherd.

Knowing God and Meeting Immanuel

Let's not settle for religion, going to church, or fast-food spirituality when God longs to fill that hole in our soul !

Phil Ware shares insights about intimately knowing God and Immanuel being real to us in our daily lives as we seek to be Jesus' disciples.

ToGather: God Made Known to Us (July 25, 2021)

God promises to be with us and in us so that we can experience his love for us!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of God's presence to be in us and real to us and reveal his love in us.

ToGather: He Holds Us in His Hand (July 18, 2021)

God claims us as his beloved children. He has sacrificed for us to show us his love, and he promises to walk with us into the future.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to open our hearts to God's promise to us as his people, Jesus' church, to walk with us, protect us, and lead us into the future.

Let Love Lead the Way

We all need to spend days in a rock tumbler, thrown and tossed against other hard objects till our broken edges are softened and our hearts are reawakened.

Melissa Troyer reminds us that the only way out of the mess we now find ourselves in is to start our own movement of grace.

Truly See the Coming King

See the King headed to a cross, the foal of a donkey, and a formerly blind man who followed along the way.

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that many were blind to Jesus as the Messiah because he refused to be the kind of Messiah they expected; he was the upside down Messiah.

ToGather: Caring for the Vulnerable (July 5, 2020)

We are Jesus' heart, hands, and feet. Let's remind each other that we should bless the broken, forgotten, left out, and needy.

Phil Ware and Demetrius Collins lead us into worship through songs, Communion, and the Word God, inviting us to experience, proclaim and rejoice in the love of God for all people and to be stirred to share that love with others.

Who Is God?

Moses wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to see that only Israel's God was truly God. Anything in addition to God was less.

James Nored and Phil Ware look at Moses' showdown with Pharaoh to remind us that this was really a showdown to show who was truly God and our need to choose to follow him.

Crown Him!

Followers of the Prince of Peace aren't necessarily skilled at experiencing peace with people who cherish different opinions about important matters.

Glenn McDonald reminds us that we are never more free than when we surrender to the will of Jesus -- when we willingly lay down our crowns to the Lord of lords.

Affirming Their Best and Not Giving Up in Their Stumbles

I can't help but believe that every time Peter heard a rooster crow, he also remembered the Lord's words of affirmation and assurance.

Phil Ware reminds us that Jesus affirmed Peter's value and his return to useful service BEFORE Peter's stumbling denials by the fire.

What Jesus Can't Do!

Why did Mark include it in his gospel? After all, his gospel is the shortest and most compact story of Jesus among the four gospels!

Phil Ware looks at Mark 6:1-6 and reminds us that this story is for us because we are Jesus' family, relatives, and hometown!

In the Hands of the Potter

God is the potter. He created us, taking us from an idea to what He imagined we could be, then shaping us into something beautiful.

Tom Norvell reminds us what it means to be in the hands of the potter!

Truly See the Coming King

A King headed to a cross, the foal of a donkey, and a formerly blind man who followed along the way.

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that many were blind to Jesus as the Messiah because he refused to be the kind of Messiah they expected; he was the upside down Messiah.

Upside-Down Kingdom

Our groups and our churches must be the arenas where Jesus' upside-down kingdom comes to life.

Phil Ware shares Jesus' teaching that is upside-down to the world around us in terms of status, wealth, power, position, achievement, and importance.

The Promise in the Crown of Thorns

There is more to the crown of thorns Jesus carried than meets the eye at first glance.

Max Lucado reminds us of the grace and love shown to us in the crown of thorns Jesus wore to the cross.

Kryptonite of Grace

Why in the world would Mark tell this story about what Jesus couldn't do after telling about four powerful miracles Jesus did?

Phil Ware challenges us with a hard truth about our low expectations of what we believe Jesus can do with us, for us, and through us -- are we, the church, the Nazareth of today?

A Baby Changes...

When a child enters the world, that baby changes everything for everyone involved!

Rick Brown challenges us to look at some of the words that surround Jesus' birth and take seriously what they can mean to us.