Christian Life
Your life—Committed or Counterfeit?
Sermon on 1 John 2:18-29 Everything Satan does is aimed at destroying your fellowship with God. Not only will he use sin, but he will also use deceit and lies to get you to believe something other than the truth. In this passage we are given practical guidance on how to stand strong against the schemes of our active enemy so we have authentic faith and...
The Real Reason You May Be Lacking Confidence
This is a little-known secret about me, but I really struggle with confidence. I always have. People assume that because I am on stage and a leader in some circles that I do not struggle with confidence. However, I would say it is my biggest weakness. By God's grace, I am getting through and I have some great voices in...
Every Christian Should Think about Being a Counselor
I never thought I was a counselor... never. Though I love working with people, sitting with a person to "counsel" them was never on my radar. I wanted to be a preacher, pastor, even a barista, but not a counselor. Little did I know that counseling was a part of all those jobs. As long as I was a living...
Learning How to Forgive Myself
https://youtu.be/Sh9Gx-TouKo In my sermon on the power of the resurrection of Jesus, I talked about how we are forgiven by God but we so often do not forgive ourselves. We seem to easily accept the fact that a good and gracious God forgave us of our sins, but we can't forgive ourselves. The truth is, it is crazy that God would ever...
God Believes Your Freedom was Worth Any Cost
In this message, I talked about the value of your freedom to God and how He was willing to kill and raise His Son so you could be free. You can watch the message here. My Sermon Transcript is below: How many of you have taken an international flight? Many of you. My guess is that you can identify with me on this: The...
What Does it Mean to Wait on God?
With rain pouring down in buckets, I drove my 1978 baby-poop-gold Chevrolet Suburban back to town after speaking at a conference. I had all my gear in the back—poles for my ministry booth, banners, books, handouts, and all sorts of other paraphernalia. On the passenger seat beside me sat a bag of half-eaten Fire Cheetos and a huge Mountain...
A Good Friday Reflection on the Cross of Jesus Christ
This is a guest post by Brian Davis, Visit Brian's band site here. When I survey the wondrous cross On which the prince of glory died My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride. That was the song I was taught as a child The hymn on Sunday morning sung by the faithful...young and old We would sing, we would learn, we...
The One Thing You May be Missing In Your Mornings
How you start off your day determines how it will end. If you don't believe me, just stop and think about it for a minute. How did your day start yesterday? Was there a connection with how you felt it ended? Let's say you were rushed to get out the door. You slammed down a granola bar and can't really...
5 Reasons Why God May Be Silent
Not long ago, my friend Steve asked when was the last time I experienced God’s silence. I told him that I have had many notable times in my life when God was not speaking. Looking back, I can explain the reason--the best I understand it--for each one of those seasons. I told Steve about my transition to become the senior...
The Secret to Trusting God When You Can’t Feel Him
So Close . . . And Yet So Far I sat down on the thin cushion of the airline seat, stuck between two oversized, malodorous men. I had requested an aisle seat, but like everything else in my life at that time, something went wrong. It was a rough season of traveling the country speaking at camps, churches, and youth events,...
Interview: New TV show, “Of Kings and Prophets,” and Keeping Boundaries at Home
A few of the questions from this interview: 1. The new ABC show “Of King and Prophets” aired this week showing some of the most bloody parts of the Bible. What’s your take on this? Do these gruesome Bible scenes turn people off of the scriptures? I found this article helpful to explain the approach of the show. 2. You are doing a new...
What is Prayer Anyway?
Prayer is the means by which we interact with God. It is how a person chooses to involve him or herself with worshiping the creator, confessing sin, asking for provision, and expressing thanksgiving and dependence. We are invited to pour out our prayers to God as if we are conversing with our Father. There is no amount of request, desire...