Going Back to Twelve Disciples Today’s passage: Acts 1:15–20 Focus verse: “Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus.” (Acts 1:16) Besides praying, the disciples also do something else as they wait for the Holy Spirit. Peter […]
Mentoring Can Help Us Grow in Our Faith and Increase Our Impact People sometimes ask me to mentor them. I’m honored that they ask. I want to say yes. Instead, I decline as respectfully as I can. Why? It’s because God hasn’t called me to be a mentor—at least not in the traditional sense. He’s […]
Even If God Sets Us Up for Success, We’ll Fail If We Don’t Obey Him God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel, ask for a king. This isn’t what God wants, but he gives them what they request. He gives them a king. At God’s direction, Samuel anoints Saul as king, appointing him ruler over […]
An Introduction to 52 Churches “Where do you go to church?” Oh, how I dread that question. It isn’t that I don’t go to church or am too embarrassed to answer. Instead, my frustration comes from the scowls I receive as I fumble through my reply. No matter what I say, I cause confusion. This […]
Discover Why God Should Inspire Our Awe The word awesome is overused today, so much so that it’s almost cliché. When most people say awesome, what they mean is outstanding or really good. Yet slang aside, the primary definition of awesome is to inspire awe. Given this, in the strictest sense, only God is awesome. […]
Everyone Can Hear from God People sometimes ask me how I hear from God, and I share with them about when I learned to do this. Yet there were some basic steps I already had in place before I started down this path. I don’t do these perfectly, but I do lean into them and […]
Discover the Essentials for Effective Ministry When we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us and gives us spiritual gifts. These are special abilities to help grow God’s Kingdom. The Bible talks about many of them, and here is a list of the key spiritual gifts. Paul names five of these gifts in his letter […]
Discover 3 Tips of What to Do If Question Your Faith I hear people who have a crisis of faith, who question what they believe. It pains me to see the struggle they’re going through. Yet I’ve never been sure how to help them, except to encourage them to press forward and not give up. […]
Jesus Must Return to Heaven before the Holy Spirit Can Come Ascension Day occurs forty days after Resurrection Sunday (more commonly called Easter). Here is some background. Jesus comes to earth as a man to save us. He dies on the cross as a sacrificial sin offering, dying in our place. On Easter Jesus rises […]
Discover What the Bible Teaches About Meeting Together While considering a better New Testament approach to church, we talked about the three key perspectives that Jesus changed: meeting in homes, serving as priests, and helping those in need. Then we looked at ten more New Testament practices: relying on the Holy Spirit, worship, prayer, fasting, […]