Category Archives: Sermons

Joy: It’s Not Optional

And he will say: “Child, I know all, and we will talk about those things. But first, you must tell me why you were not more joyful. Do you have any explanation for that? Because, if you had just been more joyful, the grudge, the divorce, the cheating never would have happened.” Continue reading

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Peace: What It Is, How to Experience It

Ms. Fader said, “If you’re a human being … and you’re not anxious, there’s something wrong with you.” Or just maybe, there is something right with you. Maybe what’s right, or what’s coming right, are your relationships. Continue reading

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Closer to those Outside the Church

Watch a TV sitcom and see if that is how married couples are portrayed. My guess is that you will find just the opposite: the women treat their husbands like fools and the men don’t know their wives at all, and don’t want to. But that’s not just TV; it’s real life – your neighbors’ and coworkers’ lives. Continue reading

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Closer to Each Other (Ephesians 4:25-32)

In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is especially concerned with/connected to/impacted by how a person speaks. If a Christian is unaware of the Holy Spirit in her life, the first thing she should do is check on what kind of speech is coming out of her mouth. Continue reading

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Become Your True Self (Pt. 3: Put on a New Self)

Humans were designed this way. They were made with the capacity to transform into something the Marvel Cinematic Universe never imagined, something that can be astonishingly good and beautiful or hideously bad and ugly. Continue reading

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Become Your True Self (Part 2 of 3)

We think of conversion as a point-in-time event – “I got converted in 1973” – because we think of ourselves as point-in-time beings. But it is not and neither are we. Conversion is not an event but a process, and it does not conclude in a moment. It is much bigger than that. Continue reading

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Become Your True Self

The fulfilled you, the forever you, beckons you on. People mistake that beckoning for hunger, boredom, sexual desire, ambition, but it is more enduring than any of these. To use the theological term, your soul’s deep longing is to be glorified. Continue reading

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Get Closer to Jesus

If you’re being mugged, a policeman is good news and a great relief, but if you’re the mugger, a policeman is bad news and a serious threat. If you are living your life as if you were god, the real God is bound to be bad news. Continue reading

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Covenant: What It Is, How It Works

The God who would become a man – a descendant of Abraham – represented both parties on the perilous walk. God called the curse down on himself should the covenant be broken. And the One who sees the end from the beginning knew exactly where that would lead. Continue reading

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Covenant Flyover

God kicked them out of “The Perfect Earth” program and exiled them from the Garden training center, but – and this is important – he did not give up on the plan. He still intends to have a perfect world stewarded by perfect people, ruling in his name with wisdom and love. Continue reading

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