Top 5 Free Bible Study Tools I Use
My life mission is to help make God's Word applicable to life. People ask me all the time what resources I use to study the Bible. Just the other day someone asked what my top five free Bible study sites are. So, here are my top five free Bible study tools: ESV Study Bible (English Standard Version) The one resource I use the...
Why Waiting for the Right Moment May be Wrong
Sometimes we hesitate, but God demands we keep moving.Be honest with yourself for a moment—has there been a time when you knew what you were supposed to do, but you stalled? Perhaps it was something God was calling you to do, but you didn’t want to do it. Maybe it was something you needed to do for your marriage,...
If You Have No Sin, Go Ahead and Point Out Everyone Else’s
I bet you’ve heard this phrase before: “The pot calling the kettle black.” This idiom was coined when pots and kettles hung over wood-burning stoves. The longer they hung over the fire, the blacker they became. So a pot and a kettle used over the same stove would be equally as black. For a pot to call a kettle black would be to...
The Secret to Knowing Who You Are
We live in a day-and-age where making our personal identity known is of great importance to us. Consider social media; we post all sorts of things as if it validates our mere existence, but all the while we struggle in the quietness of our hearts to identify who we are. At some point, all of us ask the age-old question,...
Why I Switched All My Writing to Ulysses
I have been looking for a new way to write. I first learned to write on an old computer in the basement of the home I grew up in. Focusing on writing was easy because the tools were minimal. There was no need to learn what all the buttons did because there were not many buttons. Shortcuts and key cues...
It is Gone Before We Know It
I can’t believe summer break is almost over. School supplies, in the stores, remind me that our weekly routines are about to return. Yellow buses, driving in the morning, remind me just how brief the summer is. Life is short, and the seasons come so fast. Years feel like months, and months feel like days. James was right when he...
What the Shooting in Dallas Reminds us of About Life
All life matters to God. Black lives. White lives. Asian lives. Middle Eastern lives. All life matters because all life is from God. Once again social media has been ablaze with people saying, “Black lives matter” in the wake of two prominent police killings of two black men. But then last night happened in Dallas. A dozen Dallas police officers shot, five of them killed, all because...
Why confusion about God’s call is good for you
Why would God call me to something and then make it so hard? Does He give us a call and then abandon us? Maybe you have: Taken a job that ends up being so different than you thought. Married your knight in shining armor, only to have him end up being a nightmare. Went on a mission trip that was one of your...
Making Sense of Orlando’s Loss and Being Afraid
After being close to three major shootings—Columbine, the Aurora theatre, and New Life—I'm sadly getting familiar with these feelings of lives being taken by mad, selfish killers. how do we make sense of all this? Mark Elfstand and I had a good conversation about the shooting in Orlando this week. While there are many questions left on the table, here...
Cardboard Pizza Preaching: Why we like some preachers more than others
We all like pizza or different reasons. That is why the pizza industry can have so many sellers and still not saturate the market. Papa John's is for those who like fresh ingredients. Pizza Hut is for those who like a little zest with their grease. Dominos has the cheese proportions down perfectly. Papa Murphy's is for the "I want to feel like...
The Essential Elements of a Transformed Life [Sermon]
1 John 5:1-12 So far John has spoken a lot about love and obedience, but now he is going to combine the idea of faith and its necessity in our life. In chapter 5 we learn that the road to love is paved with faith in Christ. Sermon Outline: The essential elements of a transformed life: 1. New Faith (vv. 1a, 6-10) Have an insatiable...
No Fear in Love [Sermon]
1 John 4:17-21 Can you imagine a life of fearless confidence? The Apostle John wanted nothing more than his readers to think of the day they meet the Lord as a day of joy, not of judgement. You and I can enjoy a secure relationship with God now and in the future when we allow for His love to be perfect...