How to Make the Most of Radom Downtime
I to try and make every moment of my life count. This is partially because I believe my life is a vapor, quickly fading (James 4:14). It is also because I hate to waste anything (just ask my wife). And because I am a millennial - like most in my generation, I desire to leave my mark on the...
Finding the Courage to Get Back in the Game When You Don’t Feel Like It
My dad was a linebacker for the Air Force Academy football team, and he told me this story: After the huddle broke, he approached the line. My dad is a pretty big guy, but when he saw who he was up against, he didn’t feel so big anymore. He explains how his opponent was larger than life and even...
3 Keys for Effective Ministry at Camp with Youth
Let's face it - connecting with youth doesn't always come naturally. There are times in our youth ministry where we say something we wish we wouldn't have or we have no idea what to say to even start the conversation. No matter how awkward it may be at times, there is little work that is more important than impacting...
Learning to Love God Even When I Don’t Feel Like It
Wanting to be closer to God is something that all of us should long. Like a person who has not eaten in a while groans for a good meal, we too should deeply desire to feast on the presence of God. We must desire the divine. But what does that mean? What brings on this type of hunger? What...
How to Encourage Yourself in the Midst of Discouraging Circumstances
This is a guest post by Daniel Henderson at www.strategicrenewal.com David, the great Old Testament figure, was no stranger to fatigue, fear, confusion, doubt, bad decisions, and second chances. Like refreshing rain on parched ground, his raw humanity, disarming transparency, and persevering pursuit of God give us encouragement in the occasional, even frequent, messes of our own lives. In one of the...
What We Can Learn From The Healing of a Blind Man At Bethsaida – Mark 8:22-26
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he...
How to Share Your Heart and Still be Heard
Recently I've had to have some conversations with people that have been hard - to say the least. Truth has had to be spoken, otherwise it would have left a gap in integrity or shared love. I do not like conflict, I'd rather run a marathon than face conflict (and that's saying a lot, because I really hate to run)....
Four Lessons for Fellow Cowboys from the Life of Keith Clerihue
This week my closest friend, Keith "Chet" Clerihue, went home to be with the Lord. A few years back he asked me to do his funeral, and as much as I dreaded that day, I was honored to be a part of it. Keith's life was a sermon - and will someday be in a book. Derived from the...
Sermon and Study Notes for the Parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11-27
This is without a doubt one of the hardest of the parables to exegete. I struggled with this passage for nearly twice as many hours as it takes to prep a normal sermon. Therefore, I feel it is all the more important to give my resources away for this sermon. Here are my files: Study Notes For Luke 19.11-27 - A...
Prayer is An Appeal to the Strength of the Almighty God
“A dear friend of mine who was quite a lover of the chase, told me the following story: ‘Rising early one morning,’ he said, ‘I heard the baying of a score of deerhounds in pursuit of their quarry. Looking away to a broad, open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across, and giving...
The Pure Excitement of First Time Experiences
Last year my daughter, Grace, met Winnie the Pooh for the first time. Come to think of it, so did I - yet there was a drastic difference in the set of emotions the two of us felt. Grace did not stop squealing at the top of her tiny little lungs. Her excitement to see this character, of whom she...
When Urgent Needs to Wait
I’ve heard many strong leaders give this piece of advice; “Don’t let the urgent knock out the important.” While I appreciate that statement, I find it much harder to implement than it seems. Differentiating between the urgent and the important is a task in-and-of itself. The urgent things in my job usually fall under the umbrella of leadership. These are the...