A few months ago, a friend of mine from church undertook a real labor of love. A professional photographer by trade, he took a shot he called "Smokin' Ace," had it mounted, and gave it to me as a gift.It's pretty spectacular.So now it's on the wall in my office, of...
Hebrews 12:14 contains some of the strongest words in the bible: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." Yikes.I was speaking with a friend and advisor recently and the subject of holiness came up....
When Chris Macedo welcomed people to worship this past Sunday, he spoke of the ways that our What Child Is This project stokes a "fire" in his "bones."I'm much the same way.Here's why this series has changed this Christmas from "oh, another one" to "WOW! I can't...
Each Sunday morning, we have background music playing in the Worship Center to help set the mood as people arrive.Usually, it's a mix of mid-tempo pop songs, some from Christian artists and others from mainstream acts such as Coldplay.The music goes a long way towards...
Jesus answers the question of the Christmas hymn "What Child Is This?" in Luke 4:18-19:The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because he has anointed me to preach good news to the pooor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisonsand recovery of sight for the blind,to...
I read Jonah this morning and noticed a verse tucked away in its opening scene that I had long overlooked. As the storm gathered strength against Jonah's flee-to-Tarshish cruise liner,All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god (1:5).At first glance,...
I was getting ready to study a bit the other night.That's usually how I do some of my best sermon prep.It didn't work this time, though.It's Big Cat Week on Nat Geo TV, and once the show is on, I literally can't take my eyes off it.There is simply nothing like...
There are certain things we pastors sometimes say while delivering sermons that run counter to our best interests -- and undermine the effectiveness of the message we're communicating.So here are five phrases I try my best to avoid:1. "If you don't listen to anything...
No, I'm not teaching on reproduction. I'll let others handle that.But I've been mulling over something a pastor said about pastoral ministry:We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are.I'm pretty confident that I can do the first part. There are some subjects...
So it starts Sunday.We've been praying, planning, and dreaming for a couple of months.I've been talking to as many people as possible about this crazy thing we're doing for Christmas 2010.I've even asked my family who lives so far away to get involved.It's What Child...