Christian Life
The Mercy of God is Relentless
Let's be honest, life hurts. There are times where God doesn't seem to act the way we want Him to act (which shouldn't surprise us, but it still does). So what do we do? We get frustrated, pull away from God and pout like a toddler who didn't get his way. All the while we think the compassion of God...
Where is God in My Fear and Pain?
A story of a storm in my life: We all have those moments in life that we will never forget. You know the ones: where you can seem to recount every detail no matter how far it was in the past. One of those events for me was during my junior year of high school. It was a warm spring day in...
A New Way to Think About Downtime
I don't rest well. I find a way to get busy doing something with every minute of my day. While I think it is good to be efficient and as productive as possible, we also need to make sure that we find ways to be refreshed. It is only fair that we live life to the fullest and give ourselves...
What it takes to Keep Falling in Love in Marriage
I have been formally counseling married people for over three years now, and the one thing I hear more than anything is, “We’ve fallen out of love.” Let me start by putting my opinion right up front: you cannot “fall out of love”. You can stop liking a person, but to fall out of love is a choice to neglect...
Art and God: An interview with My Brother, Jake Weidmann
There are few people I am more proud of in my life than my brother, Jake. Take last night for example—Molly and I had a gentleman over for dinner. As soon as the plates were cleared and desert was arriving at the table, I grabbed my iPad to show off my brother's facebook page. His work is diverse, excellent and one...
God’s Most Unfair Trade (Mark 8:31-38)
"The Gospel calls for our life!" This was the message I wanted to leave with the congregation I love at Mission Hills. I cannot remember a sermon that was harder or more emotional to preach than this last sermon. The content, my love for the people, and the emotion of the announcement to come was all running through my mind....
Israel Tour 2015 Update One
Today we are in the Galilee region staying in the city of Tiberius. We started our time here by having a night out on the town (we arrived late) and grabbing some good coffee at a local shop. The next morning everyone awoke to see the Sea of Galilee out their window with the sun rising and declaring the...
Why Joppa (Jaffa) Israel is Important to Our Lives Today
Today I am in Joppa which is the southern end of the city today called Tel Aviv. The port of Joppa was of great significance in both the Old and New Testament because of access that it gave to Jerusalem and other sites in Israel. This would have been the port Herod the Great used to bring in materials...
How a Trip to Israel Can Change Your Life
Sometimes the most significant things in life sneak up on us. My first trip to Israel was one surprising moment after the other. I joined a tour that was already planned and headed to Israel. The fund were provided for me to go, so I packed up and went, not sure of what to expect. Sure, I had studied the...
Why Repeating Yourself Can be Worth It
Communication is the crux of all relationships. We live with people who we love and some we merely stand. No matter the nature of the relationship, we want to make sure we are communicating for the sake of being understood. I was recently counseling a couple through conflict in their marriage. As I watched them, I noticed they continued to...
How to Overcome Complacency with Conviction (Acts 17:1-15)
In this message, we look at the Macedonia journey that Paul and Silas took in the first century, as recorded in Acts 17. From their life we can see the importance of conviction when facing opposition. The Christian life is not a life of complacency or laziness but one of transformation and resolve. My Sermon Resources: Study Notes on Acts 17.1-15 Conviction...
Why Life without a Mentor is a Bad Idea
Mentoring has always been important to me. My father played a significant role in my development of valuing outside voices of wisdom. Through our man-to-man relationship, I realize the importance of having an older and wiser person in my life to help construct and guide me. When I turned fifteen years old, my dad understood that his voice was still...