We were talking about an idea of praying for the community you are in – even (especially) if you were in exile.  The idea is that if the place does well, you do well.  This idea works in any situation you find yourself in.  If you don’t particularly like your job – pray for it to do well, don’t like your neighborhood?  Pray for it to do well.  Don’t like the Nation you live in?  Pray for it.

About the best example of this I can think of is from the life of Daniel.  Daniel lived in ...

“Leaving behind what drags us down, journeying together to discover the hope of the Greater Life that God has for us all.”

To me, these are not “mere words”.  It is not just some clever saying that we should put on our signs and letterhead.  We did not hire some marketing agency to come up with some pithy one line Vision Statement.

Without a doubt in my mind, this simple statement is the vision God has given us as one of His churches.  I have often said that salvation is a proces...

I have often said that if you are not moving forward in your relationship with God – you are going the wrong direction.  The whole point of having a relationship with Him is so He can make us perfect – like Jesus.  I have heard some say that since becoming a Christian they have stopped sinning, one person I know claims they have never sinned at all!  I know I could never get away with either of those statements and I also know none of you could either.

The fact is, the reason Jesus came ...

Jackie and I were in the office talking on Wednesday (as I was writing a different Bulletin Letter) about last week’s Bulletin Letter.  If you read it, you will remember it was about a friend who found a church he wanted to join, and part of the membership requirements were you had to confess ALL your sins to a church leader.  If you did not read last week’s letter – he found another church to join.  Now that everyone is caught up….

Jackie made the observation that though the idea of...

I had been encouraging a friend, who was a Christian, but not going to church anywhere to find a church (and yes, I did recommend the church we were going to).  After a while, he told me that they had found a church and he had a question.  It seemed that in order to become a member of this particular church, you were required to confess ALL your sins to an official of that church (whether a Deacon, Elder, Staff Pastor – I forget).  The rationale was twofold; the confessor would then determi...

The more I get to know Jesus, the more it changes how I read His Word.  When He confronted the woman caught in adultery and told her: “Neither do I condemn you….”  It was not some sort of “Get Out of Jail Free” card.  He did not tell her how much He loved her, or how wonderful He thinks she really is.  He didn’t tell her she was a victim.  As I see it playing out, Jesus was looking straight into her eyes and continued: “…and from now on sin no more.”

He did not condemn her,...

As you read this, Bev and I are eight hours ahead of you, having invaded Ireland.  Be assured we are praying for you as my friend Conner brings you God’s Word.  I am writing the letter on Monday morning and we are unsure what we will be doing at this particular moment.  We are part of a tour and we are at the mercy of someone else’ schedule.  We are hoping we will get a chance to go to church, we done some research and found a couple options.  I think it will be a lot of fun to see how so...

I was talking with a friend not too long ago.  They were frustrated because they would start a workout program and something would interfere and they would find themselves having to start all over again.  “Why can’t I be more like those people who work out every day – no matter what?”

I told them that for the most part those people who worked out every day were either professional athletes, or personal trainers working at a gym and there are not that many of those people.  I complete...

I was talking with a friend not too long ago.  They were frustrated because they would start a workout program and something would interfere and they would find themselves having to start all over again.  “Why can’t I be more like those people who work out every day – no matter what?”

I told them that for the most part those people who worked out every day were either professional athletes, or personal trainers working at a gym and there are not that many of those people.  I complete...