If we are going to stand against the schemes of the devil, we need to be aware of what he is like. In any feat of competition, battle, or contest, a contender is wise to be knowledgeable of their opponent. If Christians have an adversary, ...
This section of Scripture shows us our natural state and that we desperately need new life in Christ, or regeneration. Out natural state is this: we are spiritually dead and unable to save ourselves, nor are we able to resist sin, the world, the D...
Ephesians 6:10-20 is the foundation which this series will be built on, and if verses 10-13 tell us anything, it’s this: Scripture is crystal clear that spiritual warfare is real, and we’re commanded to engage in it. This is a vital reminder t...
“Can I ______; can I ______? What’s ok, what isn’t? I can agree sex should be kept for marriage, but I still want to show physical affection while dating.” It is unavoidable that this tension will come up in a dating relationship. In this ...
This message finishes where last week’s left off: Biblical principles for addressing the tension some feel about Christians putting too much pressure on dating for marriage. The two principles proposed here are (1) The believer’s first respons...
It is a common claim in Christian circles that ‘dating should be for the purpose of marriage.’ And yet, what is also a common claim among believers is that there can be ‘too much pressure for marriage’ in dating. Do you feel the tension? W...
In this message, we pick up where we left off from the previous message. We address yet another tension in the dating conversation. The goal is to evaluate potential causes of these tensions, address them with Biblical principles, and then propose...
A survey of Christian college students and non-Christian Americans revealed some common tensions in the ‘dating’ conversation. For example: ‘It feels weird to date a guy/gal that’s one of my closest friends… and yet I want my future spou...
Trying to ‘date well’ can feel like navigating a hot air balloon through the depths of the Grand Canyon… blindfolded. And sometimes it feels like there are more questions and opinions on the matter than fish in the sea! Wouldn’t it be nice...
God has spoken clearly, we won’t listen clearly, but Christ is our clarity. So how should Christians wrestle through differences of interpretation in the body of Christ? Paul’s model is two-fold: You welcome each other and you be fully convinc...
Though God has spoken clearly, the Bible often seems unclear to us because of our human limitations and our sinful rebellion. Submission to God through his Word gives you clarity, as Moses told the Israelites on the plains of Moab. But sin makes y...
God has spoken clearly, but we won’t listen clearly, so is there any hope? Yes, because Christ is our clarity. Jesus not only gives us eyes to see and hearts to receive the truth of God’s clear Word, but he also teaches us in the gospels a fai...
God has spoken clearly. The reason that we can have confidence as we read the Bible is because God is by nature and in creation a clear communicator. God created the gift of language and gave it to Adam and Eve, but when Satan distorted the Word o...
In this final passage of Ecclesiastes, Solomon does not write from a king’s perspective. He writes from his deathbed. You could say Solomon has been teaching us how to live with one foot in the grave. Solomon acknowledges we do not know how many...
Main Idea: When death exposes life's limitations, wisdom calls us to faith in God. Death has lingered throughout the book of Ecclesiastes up to this point. It has been in the shadows, it has loomed overhead, it has been observed from a dis...
Solomon once again reaches back into his memory bank to consider how he once processed the realities of Death and Injustice. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 Solomon expressed his God-fearing conclusion about every day matters of life. The frustrations and ...
Solomon once again reaches back into his memory bank to consider how he once processed the realities of Death and Injustice. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 Solomon expressed his God-fearing conclusion about every day matters of life. The frustrations and ...
For several years, Jared and Claire Millican have been praying about whether to move their family to the Czech Republic to partner with our Global Outreach Partners, Marcus and Amie Denny and the church in Kladno. Here...
Five insights into making God’s sovereignty the foundation of persistent joy. You can usually bet that when the season changes, the weather changes accordingly. Certain weather is appropriate and fitting for certain seasons. In Ecclesias...
In this passage Solomon turns from describing his pursuit of gain through wisdom and folly. Now he begins to explain what he learned through a deep evaluation of that pursuit. ‘What does he have to show for it?’ In other words, he’s still tr...
King Solomon has discovered that every surface upon which life can be enjoyed, every nook and cranny in which one might search for some new hidden gem of fulfillment, and any luxurious amenity life might have to offer for a man’s short stay on t...
‘Hevel…’ Vanity…Smoke…Mist…Breath… If these things represent the transience of life, and if they represent the transience of the experiences life has to offer, then Solomon wants to be sure we’re not chasing after the wron...