For all their differences, both creation and the theory of evolution require an element of faith In school I learned about evolution. In church I learned about creation. Creation marks the beginning of the Bible and forms the foundation of my worldview, which started as a child from my parents and became an informed decision […]
Category: Christian Living
Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Scripture is packed with instructions of how Christians should treat each other Last year I shared 13 Reasons Why I Love the Bible, and I periodically expand upon one of those thirteen reasons. Today we’ll explore how the Bible teaches us to live with each other. Although these lessons occur throughout the Bible, let’s focus […]
Jesus Turns the Celebration of Passover into the Celebration of Communion As the Israelites prepare to leave Egypt, Moses instructs them to have a special meal with their families and neighbors. They celebrate the first Passover. From then on Passover becomes an annual celebration. Fast forward a couple millennia. Jesus gives his disciples instructions to […]
The Bible Offers Little Support for a Minister to Preach a Sermon to Us at Church Many changes occurred in church practices because of the Protestant Reformation some 500 years ago. One of those changes adjusted the emphasis of the Sunday service. The reformers had concern over the focus of Sunday gatherings being on the […]
Living for Jesus is simple, but we often make it harder than it needs to be Though some people try to turn their walk with Jesus into a complex set of criteria, in reality living the Christian life is simple. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it is simple. Here are the three essential aspects […]
Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Law and Prophets when he gives new meaning to the old ways Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law and Prophets (Matthew 5:17). One way he did this, the most significant way, was to satisfy the anticipation found throughout the Old Testament for a coming savior, a Messiah, who […]
We Need to Order Our Priorities With Intention and Do What Matters Most Whether we realize it or not, we form priorities to order our lives. For most of my adult existence my number one priority has been God. Though I held this out as my ideal, sometimes, perhaps too often, my actions didn’t live […]
We can learn to pray by following Jesus’s example, as long as we don’t misapply it When it comes to praying, there is no better teacher than Jesus. Perhaps that’s why many of his followers memorize the prayer he taught his disciples and why many churches include this prayer in their church services. We commonly […]
Through Jesus We Can Discover Our Response to Violence and Oppression Seldom a day goes by when we don’t hear of terrorists who commit violence and murder in the name of their faith. These religious zealots believe a higher calling gives them the right to kill others in order to elevate their beliefs. This seems […]
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How Can You Shrink Your Church?
We Live in a World That Thinks Bigger Is Better, but That’s Not Always True Our modern-day society evaluates things based on size. We celebrate magnitude, with bigger being better. Consider the opposite. For example, do you want to shrink your church? Of course not. You want to grow it. We often assume that bigger […]