Writing to Help You Find and Share the Hope of Jesus
Our church is preaching through a sermon series on the One Another commands of the New Testament. This post is adapted from a message in that series. If I were to ask who is the most honest figure in American history, many people might point to President George Washington. And if I were to press … Continue reading How The Truth Of Jesus Transforms Us Into Truthful People
My guess is that when we hear that word “hospitality,” most of us probably think of things like backyard barbecues, tea parties, or other social gatherings where you invite your friends over to hangout. There’s often an entertainment focus when we think about hospitality. And that’s not bad. In fact, those types of things definitely … Continue reading Welcoming Others Because God Welcomed Us: 5 Ways To Approach Hospitality
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus shared a story of a servant who owed his king an impossible debt. Jesus said his debt was ten thousand talents (Matt 18:24). Now, one talent alone was an incredibly large amount. It was about twenty years wages for a typical laborer at that time. So 10,000 talents … Continue reading Our Impossible Debt
“[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” Luke 18:9 Jesus warned us about self-righteousness. He made it clear to us that trusting in our own righteousness would never bring us into a right relationship with God. He also made the connection that … Continue reading The Logic Of Self-Righteousness
“[S]eek to show hospitality.”Romans 12:13 When my wife and I moved to South Dakota in 2004, I was not following Jesus. My wife Marie was really the only reason I went to church then. At Marie’s prompting, we visited church after church. We would slip in and out each Sunday without anyone ever really engaging … Continue reading Compelled To Welcome: Hospitality And The Great Commission
My girls love big stories. Like me, they love to read and watch epic adventures. Their first taste of big stories came from Veggie Tales, which was then followed by Pixar’s Cars. As we emerged from the Cars phase (and let me tell you, this was a significant phase at our house), we discovered The … Continue reading Great Stories For The Greatest Story: My Most Frequent Prayer for My Daughters
“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”Isaiah 55:2 Cool Ranch Doritos and Hot Tamales. These are my two favorite junk foods. I could eat them all day, every day. They taste amazing, but I know they have no nutritional value. If … Continue reading Bible Sprinkles
Yesterday I finished reading The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. This insightful book provides an intimate look at British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, his family, and his cabinet during the German bombings, or “Blitz”, of England prior to the United States’ entry into World War II. One of Churchcill’s most remembered traits, of … Continue reading The Right Words for the Right Moment
A few months ago, we began using a new program at ATLAS (the ministry I work with) that helps us track donations, manage contacts, send emails, and many other things. One of the features included in the program is something called an Ahern Audit. This feature scans your outgoing correspondence and tells you two things. … Continue reading Take the “You Test”
“Let us therefore strive to enter [God’s] rest”Hebrews 4:11 “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1) “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3) In other words, don’t miss this. That’s the urgent cry of the book of … Continue reading Strive to Enter God’s Rest – 5 Helps to Continue Believing the Gospel
A Thrill of Hope 