Experiencing the Grace of Christ in Everyday Life
Have you ever felt like at any moment the other shoe was going to drop? As though you weren't safe to feel happy or be at peace? Feeling this way makes it hard to feel joy. It makes us wrap ourselves in blankets of anxiety, as if we could keep ourselves safe from disappointment and... Continue Reading →
The truth that 'God is love' (1 John 4:8) is about as calorie-dense and nutrient-packed – theologically speaking – as any Biblical truth is. Yet, I have observed that many Christian women crave something that feels more substantial when it comes to practical living.
When my mother died, the Gospel became more real to me than ever before. I had already been a Christian for some time - I want to say about fifteen years or so by then, but there was something about the magnitude of what I believed that set in for me at her funeral. There... Continue Reading →
In the midst of the current COVID-19 crisis, I have wondered what celebrating Passion Week is going to be like while physically separated from fellow believers and my church family. You probably have too. I mean, I think we can all admit that church is different now - or at least it feels different now.... Continue Reading →
...when we can, we will do well to help a brother or sister in the Lord turn away from behavior that harms the church and grieves the Holy Spirit. The following are four steps to responding Biblically to power-play in the church.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10 ESV As we saw in the last post, power-play in the church is a satanic scheme intended to bring division among... Continue Reading →
“…Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought... Continue Reading →
"But I am among you as the one who serves." -Our Lord Jesus, as recorded in Luke 22:27 Power-brokers, power-mongers, and power-players run our world. To some degree or another, most of us have come to accept that power-play is just part of living life in a fallen and corrupted world. We anticipate finding power-brokers in... Continue Reading →
We all know that we MUST forgive those that have hurt us. The Lord requires that we forgive our enemies; that we forgive the people that have injured us (Matthew 6:14; Colossians 3:13). We must forgive as we are forgiven. That is what we, Christians, believe; that is what we, Christians, pray (Luke 11:4). If... Continue Reading →
This is the sermon John Piper preached at Passion 2017. Sunday a friend told me to check it out. She said that her and her husband listened to it last week and that it left them dumbfounded - that it changed their whole perspective on sin and the essence of evil. So I heeded her... Continue Reading →
Boasting in Weakness 