God Gives Us Special Abilities to Advance His Kingdom The topic of spiritual gifts confuses many people and perplexes others. It’s easy to understand a physical present, something we can put in a box, wrap, and put a bow on. Giving tangible objects as gifts is easy to comprehend—and to receive. The disconnect comes as […]
Learn More about Demas Whereas John-Mark had an early collapse and then made a comeback, Demas started strong but ended in failure. He began well. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, Demas is called a co-worker and in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Demas sends his greetings. Clearly he was involved with Paul’s ministry in a […]
Re-examine Our Church Practices from a Biblical Viewpoint Over the past few months, I published a series of posts about assumptions we should change about church. Here is a list of all nine: What perspectives should you change about your view of church? Pick the assumption that most convicts you and work to reform it, […]
Small Churches versus Bigger Churches With our journey of visiting fifty-two churches over, I can reflect more on the complete experience. Today, I’ll add to my thoughts about Church #19. We’ve visited many small churches on our journey. Except for this one, all these tiny congregations desperately desired to grow numerically. But is this God’s […]
The eleventh and final sermon in the book of Acts: Acts 28:17-28 (specifically Acts 28:25-28) Setting: Rome Speaker: Paul Audience: Jewish leaders Preceding Events: Paul conducts a pre-meeting with the Jewish leaders, explaining his situation and confirming his commitment to his faith. Overall Theme: Though Jews hear the message of Jesus, most do not understand; […]
The Holy Spirit Gives Jesus’s Followers Special Abilities In the Bible, Paul talks about spiritual gifts, special abilities given to us by the Holy Spirit. These aren’t for our personal use but for the common good of Jesus’s followers, that is, his church. Some of these supernatural abilities enhance our existing capabilities, while others are […]
The church meets in the all-purpose room of a local school. The atmosphere is casual, with people milling about, talking, sipping coffee, and munching snacks. With all ages represented, we see many kids present. Jeans and t-shirts abound. The church meets in the all-purpose room of a local school. The atmosphere is casual, with people […]
The Kingdom of God Is About Power, Not Words When Paul writes to his friends in the city of Corinth, he encourages them to change their behavior. In the middle of this, he slips in a curious line about the kingdom of God. He says that God’s kingdom isn’t about talk but about power (1 […]
Focusing on Ourselves Is Selfish While Focusing on Others Is Selfless There was a time when I headed up our church’s small group initiative. One of the things I learned was that small groups with an inward focus lasted about eighteen months and fizzled out. However, groups with an outward focus would last much longer. […]
When people talked to Jesus, the discussion was often about the same thing, whether broached with the phrase “kingdom of God,” “kingdom of heaven,” “eternal life,” “salvation,” or “saved.” Sometimes the people asked, what must we do? How can we receive it? And Jesus responded. Although his instructions varied with the person and situation, the […]