How to live a life that is faithful to our calling as followers of Jesus Christ......
Our Self-Sufficient Yet Relational God Mind-boggling thought, isn't it? That the Triune God of the universe, the Creator and Lord, the Sovereign Ruler over all, actually "wants" a relationship with each of us! Oh, how we must be careful, that in our desire to not misrepresent God in any way, painting a picture of Him as a warm and fuzzy God (which He's not!), we not forge...
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Helping People Follow Jesus Better From a young age, Taekwondo was my sport. From my first ever white-belt class, I absolutely fell in love with the martial art and its competitive intricacies. Over the course of ten years, I ground out thousands of hours at practices, training camps, seminars, and tournaments all for the prospect of snagging that next elusive champion...
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Committed to the Truth in Love A few Sundays ago, Pastor Brock preached on "A Love Expressing Church," which reminded me of the tension that every Bible teaching church experiences. "Should we be a church committed to the truth, or committed to love?" This "tension" only exists in us as fallen people. For God has designed His church to be committed to "both" the truth AN...
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Loving and Sacrificial Service One of the most amazing, mind-boggling accounts in the life of our Lord Jesus is found in John 13. It's the shocking account of our Lord, the "Teacher" and "Lord" (John 13:13), girding Himself about and washing the feet of His disciples. The narrator, the Apostle John, tells us both the motivation for Jesus' act and the lesson that the disci...
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The Quest for Christlikeness These were the humble words of John the Baptist (John 3:30), whose public ministry lasted less than one year, and ended shortly after Jesus appeared on the scene to begin His own public ministry. And yet, Jesus said later about John the Baptist, "I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least i...
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Practicing Compassion toward the "least of these" I have had the privilege of traveling to 16 countries over the years, primarily in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Very quickly your eyes are opened to the realities that people face daily outside of America. I taught on many subjects, one of those being "mercy" ministries. I recall many times very genuinely talking to...
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HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! InEphesians 1:15-23, Paul prays that his brethren would have a greater understanding of three things: "what is the hope of God's calling" (v. 18), "what are the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints" (v. 18), and "what is the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe" (v. 19). The latter petition, then, b...
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Read: Matthew 26:47-27:61; Mark 14:43-15:47; Luke 22:47-23:56; John 18:2-19:42 BETRAYAL AND ARREST Motivated by sheer hatred, the religious leaders arrest the Lord Jesus sometime after midnight, early Friday morning. All of this is spearheaded by one of Jesus' very own disciples, Judas Iscariot, who, showing his true colors, betrays Jesus with a traitor's kiss. Jesus ...
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Read: Matthew 26:17-46; Mark 14:12-42; Luke 22:7-46; John 13:1-17:26 With the religious leaders intent on finding opportunity to put Him to death, Jesus, knowing that He had come to die in the place of sinners, instructs His disciples to make preparations for the traditional and symbolic Passover meal. While in the Upper Room, the Lord reveals to them His impending death...
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