Christianlife

Our Modern Culture Destroys the Beauty of the Old Testament

Imagine you were describing the biggest American sporting event to someone 300 years from now. First of all, you would call it the "Superbowl." You would say they were playing "football." Imagine deacribing the teams... the Chief against the Buccaneers. Can you imagine how confused they would be? Soooo…. You’

Christianlife

Christianity Is A Relationship Not a Benefits Program

Have you ever read something that just stopped 🛑 you in your tracks? I just did. I am currently re-reading through a book by CS Lewis entitled "The Screwtape Letters." This is a great fictional letter correspondance between a head demon named Screwtape and his nephew. In this book, a demon

King Jesus (Matthew)

Matthew 2:1-12 (How We Worship)

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod

apologetics

How to Deconstruct Your Faith 🚧

When I first entered the world of ministry over 20 years ago, most of my time was spent helping people deal with difficult issues and trusting God’s goodness. However, they were solid in their walk with God. Now, I would say at least half my time is consumed with

Christianlife

Sunday Morning Christian Sermons Need Changing

Sundays have changed a lot since I was a child. Back then, we would go to Sunday school, sing songs, hear the pastor preach, take an afternoon break, then go back and do it again that evening.... then go back to church on Wednesday! God's Word and God's people were

books

Family Driven Faith

Book Title: Family Driven Faith Author: Voddie Baucham, Jr. Personal Rating: 9/10. I have heard it said that the church is NOT the hope of the world. It is the family that IS the hope of the world. Families make up the church and the church impacts the world.

Christianlife

Matthew 1:18-25 (The Kind of Person God Uses)

What kind of person does God use to bring about His good plans? Let's find out. This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through

Christianlife

Quiet Quitting = Quiet Firing

DISCLAIMER- I am not writing this about anyone on our current team, but as the answer to a request. There is a new buzzword making its rounds in the social media world: Quiet Quitting. People are celebrating the idea that they are "thumbing their noses" at their employers by engaging

King Jesus (Matthew)

Matthew 1:1-17 (The Family of God)

“This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was

books

Is Passion Overrated?

How do people end up loving what they do for a living? I recently started a book by Cal Newport called "So Good They Can't Ignore You." Cal interviewed people who loved what they did for a living. To his surprise, he found out that most of them DID NOT

The Joy of Grief

The greatest joy of grief is that we do not grieve alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us. Possibly my favorite author of all time is C.S. Lewis. Most people who know him are familiar with his Chronicles of Narnia series. To be honest, those are my least

Why We Don’t Do the “Sinner’s Prayer” On Sunday Mornings

Goal- Not to excuse or accuse. It is only to explain. Disclaimer- Most churches I know still have a moment at the end of the speakers message where they talk about salvation and give people an opportunity to receive salvation by asking them to repeat a prayer. Our church did

Christianlife

5 Reasons Why I Love LifeGroups

LifeGroup season is here again for our RLC family. 👏👏 During this time, I hear so many excuses as to why some will not be getting into a group this time. Honestly, I can emphasize with every reason. They are all good and sound very plausible. However, I don't get into

American Persecution (1 Peter)

Have you been in a swimming pool 🤿 when it is being filled up? For a while, you get so busy cleaning the water, straightening out the liner, and generally fixing issues that you don't notice it slowly filling up. 🏊‍ It's not until you looking around you realize you are surrounded

books

Book Review: Telling Yourself the Truth

Title: Telling Yourself the Truth Author: William Backus and Marie Chapian Rating: 8/10 Review: There is a constantly  audio recording always running in our brains. This recording comes from all the inputs we receive and merge into one long voice. It speaks out of our worries, our fears, our

Christianlife

Living Your Truth Will Wreck Your Life (Interview)

Alisa Childers and Greg Koukl are two of the most prominent apologists active today. In this interview, Alisa interviews Greg concerning the philisophical issues attached to "living your truth." It sounds really good on a tshirt or in a twitter feed, but it can wreck your life. The reality is

books

Book Review: The Motive

Leadership is hard. Anyone who says otherwise will lie to you about something else. It is even more difficult in the church-world because there is this misconception that the church is always a nice, happy, pleasant place. It's not! Churches are full of people and people are messy. Hurting people

What Your Ministry Leader Wishes You Knew

I am very blessed to have a lot of ministry friends. These people span across various areas of ministry from staff, to lead pastors, to professors, to missionaries. The people I know in all these different fields of ministry are so different that you would think they do not have

apologetics

Dealing With Doubt: 4- Factual Doubt

I saved the best for last. This is the area of doubt I have struggled with the most. It wasn't due to a lack of evidence. It was due to a lack of asking hard questions. Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by people who were very committed to their

apologetics

Dealing With Doubt: 3- Emotional Doubt

If you have ever watched a loved one die of illness, heard of a baby dying unexpectedly, or personally dealt with tradgey... you have possibly struggled with emotional doubt. Emotional doubt is not a bad thing. It can help you dig deeper and truly discover what you believe. However, you

apologetics

Dealing With Doubt: 2- Is God Ignoring Me?

Dr. Gary Habermas is one of my "mentors from afar." lol. I have never met him but hope to one day. His research into the Resurrection has been a great blessing in my own seasons of doubt. In the teaching video below, Dr. Habermas helps us grapple with seasons of

Dealing With Doubt: Part One

Dr. Gary Habermas is the foremost authority ... ON THE PLANET... on the resurrection. He has written over 40 books on various topics. He is a genius... and he almost walked away from Christianity after becoming a PhD! That is staggering. He has spent his life getting to the bottom of

Pray First App !! 👏 👏

Beginning soon, I hope to join with you in 21 days of prayer. Prayer is the greatest weapon we have. We can stand in spiritual authority through prayer. Because of what Christ has done, we live FROM victory not FOR it. This spiritual authority in every spiritual battle comes from

Real Life Counseling Center

I heard someone once say that people admire you for your strengths but they connect with you in your weaknesses. I sure hope that is true. I decided a long time ago I was done with trying to impress anybody. Rather, I want to share the good AND the bad

God, “Who Said I Needed Protecting?”

One of my daughters loves the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The other day, we were watching the third on in the series (probably my favorite) and there was a scene that has stuck in my mind. In this scene, one of the characters heads into enemy territory by herself.