Listen Now

Behind every successful person are 3 characteristics; they are quick to accept responsibility, they always say thank you, and they never give up. What is your life marked by, acceptance or blame? Is your life marked by complaining or gratitude? Do you easily throw in the towel or do you finish what you started? And what does a barfing whale, a bleeding woman and a leper have to do with any of it?!

Specifically looking at the idea of peace in the advent season. does Jesus stand the test of time? When He's asleep on the boat as the storm threatens to take them out, is it because He is unaware or indifferent or because He knows something we do not?

Paul compares our walk with God to a race. Most start strong, but few know how to finish strong. What keeps us from finishing our race well? What are the things that get in our way?Nu

What does it take to be kind? Why does kindness matter? Imagine a world in which people threw kindness like confetti!

John 10:1-10 paints a beautiful picture of Jesus as not only our good Shepherd but also as the gate, but what exactly does that mean?

Everyone knows that dogs eat vomit, but does anyone know why?  Why is Proverbs 26:11 in the Bible, and what does it mean for us?  Is sin really that big of a deal?

What's the problem with idols?  Who or what am I worshipping, other than Jesus?  Is Jesus really the Lord of your life, or is He just your genie-in-a-bottle?

What if the time and energy we spent trying to hide behind filters to fit in, be accepted and liked was the exact opposite of what God really wanted from us?  How do we live unmasked, as we are?  Is God's love and acceptance of us really enough, even if no one else loves and accepts us for who we really are?

Life is full of incredible disappointments, and certainly the graduating class of 2022 has faced 2.5 years of cancellations, new normals, and a majority of their high school lives spent in isolation with all of the fun cancelled.  But, as God's children, how are we to respond in the middle of life's crushing blows?  Can we trust the goodness, the Godness, and the faithfulness of God in the midst of life's crushing disappointments?  There are 2 paths, the one less traveled is the only path in which we find true hope, sustainability, and the wildest adventure ever, walking with Jesus in all things.

Revelation 21:1-6 paints a beautiful picture for us of what's to come when Christ reigns fully with His glory on display, but how exactly are we to live within the tension of the here and now?  How are we as God's children living out His love and putting His glory on display, or have we grown too sour for that?  What does Christ call us to while we wait and yearn for the promise of heaven?

Hebrews 12 instructs us to throw off everything that weighs us down and hinders us from running our race, but what if what kept us held back from true freedom in Christ was our own obligation?  Do we read Scripture out of obligation, or desire?  Do we pray because we have to, or because we want to?  Do we worship because that's part of our routine, or because it is our pleasure to do so?  What does it look like to have heart in following Christ?  How does heart affect the way in which we do things?

Isaiah 55:1-9 offers us an interesting invitation, an invitation to those who are hungry and thirsty to come and be satisfied, an invitation for those who are broke to come and buy.  Oh how the grace and mercies of Christ satisfy us in ways we've never known.  We are called as children of God to stay thirsty; thirsty for Jesus and His sweet presence.

In order to have compassion on others, we must learn to see others as God sees them.  The father in the story of the prodigal son saw, from a distance, who his son truly was.  And his acceptance of him, inspire of his failures, changed the trajectory of his life forever.

You cannot give what you have not received.  Who is our role model for compassion?  Christ, Himself.  Have we forgotten the incredibly high price that He paid for us?

For Jesus, compassion was more than just a feeling.  It was a commitment to get involved with hurting people.  What could it look like if we embraced others, even with their oozing sores?

90% of conflict stems from misunderstanding, so how do we, as God's children, practice perspective in a Biblical way?  We speak and be honest, we lean in and listen, and then we set our mind on things above.  Those who learn to look through the lens of God at their life circumstances will find a power and strength they've never known.  As Charles Surgeon so once wisely said, "Christian, remember the goodness of God in the frost of adversity."

What if a right perspective gave us a power to get through the hard things?  Jesus gives us the ultimate example of this as He looked to the joy that set before Him and having done so, He endured the brutality of the cross.  What does that mean for our everyday lives and the trials we face?  How powerful can perspective really be?

We are in Part 1 of a 3 part series on Perspective.  What shapes our perspective, and how can a blind man see Jesus more clearly than His closest followers?

What if all  of the great things we've done for Jesus didn't amount to a hill of beans?  In Revelation 2, Jesus issues a stern warning to the church at Ephesus, and to us as well.  They had abandoned their first love.  We are called to remember and repent, our love for Jesus is the most important thing we will have or grow in our lives.  Have you abandoned your first love?

What could God do with our everyday lives if we live with eyes wide open?  The opposite of apathy is simple, loving God and loving others.  Embrace the process, it prepares you for the destination.