“The church is full of hypocrites!” How would you answer someone (or yourself) in the face of this objection? The same objection may be voiced a number of ways. “I like Jesus, just not the church. It’s full of hypocrites.” “I can be a Christian and live for Christ without attending a church. It’s only…
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Are the parables of the Bible old and out of date? No, but in order to relate to them, we might need to think about them in our own context. As I write this, I am sitting with my dad at the gate for our flight from Louisville to Oklahoma City (by way of Charlottesville).…
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Are there parts of life where Jesus isn’t allowed? That is a question that’s come up in my reading this week and in the sermon again this morning. In America we have a tendency to think of church (or religion) as separate from the rest of life. A growing sentiment urges, “Do what you want…
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Easter celebrations are behind us and summer planning is in full swing. Many of these events happen yearly (like vacations, field trips, Vacation Bible School, camp, etc.). This post explains how to save yourself a lot of trouble the next time around. The key to minimizing mounting stress and trouble when planning major events is…
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Don’t you love it when kids discover the answers to their own questions? A second grade child recently asked me a great question: “What does ‘love the world’ mean?” Soon the class helped answer her question. Our Sunday school that week actually combined two lessons. (We were making up for a week church-wide Sunday school…
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Do you struggle with negative thoughts? God’s been hammering an important truth into me over the past few weeks. I got really sick over Christmas and I think it was (at least in part) a result of stress. So, I’ve been working to address that issue the last several months. I’ve been reading Overcoming Fear,…
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The true story of one traumatized little girl led me to reevaluate the way I teach and celebrate the events of Easter. Next week is Holy Week where churches around the world will be remembering Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ trial, His crucifixion, and the joy of Resurrection Sunday. This…
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If you live in Oklahoma, Arizona, or Kentucky, you may have a unique opportunity to share God’s love with your community and reach kids for Christ. If not, take time to read this post anyway. As you do, think of unique opportunities God may place before you and your church to minister to those around…
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Have your children been challenged in what they believe? It may happen sooner than you think. Let me share a few stories, then I’ll give you some resource links for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends. From Social Studies to Satan? For those not familiar with American regional differences, the southern states have traditionally…
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Are you or your children the next Billy Graham? How do you know? What about Billy Graham made him so special and influential? If you have not heard, Billy Graham died Wednesday morning, Feb. 21, 2018. Our prayers are with his family in this difficult time of grief. How to Minister to the Grieving Who was…
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