Like last year, I’m using Tim Challies’ reading challenge to help guide my reading for this year. I’ll post monthly updates this year for tho...

Discipling is a team sport. Being a Christian is not primarily an individualistic thing. Just as you would never try to win a soccer match or a football game by yourself, ultimately being built up into the likeness of Christ is not something you c...

As we enter into the last third of Ephesians, our prayer is that all of us would be strengthened so that Christ would be living His life through us. We want our relationships as members of the body of Christ to continue to grow in unity and minist...

While reading the book of Exodus with my family a few weeks ago we came upon the scene at the foot of Mt. Sinai where Aaron molds a golden calf at the commissioning of the people while Yahweh met with Moses on the mountain above them. Talk about s...

Like last year, I’m using Tim Challies’ reading challenge to help guide my reading for this year. Unlike last year, I’m not going to attempt ...

We had planned for our California vacation for months, back to one of our favorite spots, a small coastal town in the central part of the state. A charming small motel, just across the street from the ocean, big red Adirondack chairs facing the su...

Well, like everyone else, I started this year with good intentions. And, like everyone else, my intentions didn't amount to much! Thanks, 2020. But seriously, for all its grieving, frustration, and difficulty, there were some pretty solid silver l...

Proposition: The spiritual posture necessary to enter the kingdom is humble helplessness. Evidence 1: The context Evidence 2: Christ’s teaching Evidence 3: The Gospel of Grace....

We saw in chapters 1 and 2 of Ephesians the glorious plan of God explained. This plan is the fulfillment of His promise to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed, the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. This plan is about God savi...

Main Idea: Christ was born to help—go to him for help 1. Why you must go to him for help He came to die with us (2:14)He came to destroy Satan’s tyranny (2:14)He came to free us from the fear of death...

Be exalted as a trophy of mercy! The Problem (v9) The Parable (v10–14a) The Point (v14b) ...

Big Idea: Jesus calls us to be confident and faithful in prayer until He returns Don’t be discouraged in prayer Ephesians 6:18-20 Be confident in the Judge of Heaven and Earth Genesis 18:25...

Main Idea: Three ways to be prepared for the return of Christ the Judge Look with the right perspective (20–30) Daniel 7:13–14 Guard your affections (31–33) 1 John 2:15–17 Be sober-mi...

Luke 11:1-4 is a lesson from Jesus on how to pray. But before looking at his lesson, let’s take time to see Jesus’ prayer life in action by asking two questions: How did Jesus prioritize prayer? What was his purpose in prayer?...

Main Idea: Disciples must have the mindset of a slave if they are to succeed in their Kingdom pilgrimage. Outline: The Picture: The Master's Place Over the Slave (verses 7–9) The Practice: The Sl...

Every year I like to set a reading goal for myself to help me stay focused on learning and growing. For three out of the last four years, I have used ...

Inevitable Snares v1-2Indomitable Community v3-4Indispensable Faith v5-6...

God gave us the Bible so we could be transformed into people who are like his Son. How does this transformation take place? It’s a daily process of becoming what we have already been made in Christ, of putting off the old and putting on the new....

Intro: Four forceful challenges to money lovers so that your first love would be Jesus Christ the merciful and gracious Rethink how you justify yourselfRethink the barriers you set upRethink what really endu...

Ephesians is a wonderful letter from the Apostle Paul to the believers in Ephesus. It describes God’s loving plan to make a people for Himself in Christ and then describes how people should relate to one another in the church. Our prayer is that...

Scriptures: Titus 2:1-8; Psalm 71Three keys to being a faithful disciple as we age Expose the lies about agingPrepare for the truths about agingDon’t retire from ma...

As Mrs. Sorenson, a lovely, silver-haired lady, exited church one Sunday morning, she warmly grasped the Pastor’s hand and exclaimed: “Oh, Pastor, what a wonderful sermon! I will never forget it!” But then she chuckled, “What am I saying...

Introduction Main Idea: Four questions to help evaluate your enjoyment of God and his gifts. 1. Have you answered the ultimate question of where your greatest affection lies? Do you love t...

As believers in Christ, we have become members of one another as we share in Christ. We are all together members of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We have all been grafted into Christ (John 15:1-11). As we share in Christ’s body, we a...

Discipleship is a vital aspect of our lives and is a command from God. When Matthew 28:19-20 calls us to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” it doesn’t leave o...