“Just believe.” How often has a well-meaning Christian said that? “Don’t overthink it, just believe.” I find that statement simplistic. Which is why the Christmas story is so encouraging. In the Christmas story, we have one of the most famous Christians admitting the math doesn’t add up. When the angel appeared to Mary to let…
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I’ve been working my way through a book, that for me, is the best book I’ve read in 2017. It’s entitled, This is Our Time, by Trevin Wax. It’s all about helping us spot the longing and the lie in every story society tells. In one particular chapter, Wax camps in the arena of politics. It’s…
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Sometimes our lives can be radically transformed by a monumental or traumatic event. Sometimes the death of a loved one wakes a person up to realities previously unconsidered. Sometimes a divorce causes a person to begin asking questions they weren’t before. Sometimes a positive life experience like marriage or becoming a parent radically shifts the…
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Not every encounter with God is pleasurable. Sometimes we have a romanticized view of fellowship with God. But the famous story of Jacob wrestling with God offers us a more nuanced perspective. Sometimes God doesn’t come to us in order to encourage us, but to pick a fight with us. Jacob has been a conman….
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Having grown up in the church and having spent a lot of time with other pastors, I can testify that many people will be studying their Bibles this Sunday, but completely missing the gospel. Just because the church teaches from the Bible doesn’t mean it is clearly presenting the gospel of grace in the life,…
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We ALL feel the pressure to impress. I feel it. You feel it. We all feel it. In Genesis 27, Jacob felt the same. So much so he went to great lengths to impress his father. The method he used, is one we use frequently – whether or not we realize it is another issue. …
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In Acts 17:11-40, Luke records how three different people experienced the saving power of Jesus Christ. My belief is that Luke records them one after the other because he’s showing us how it is people come to saving faith. The bottom line: people get saved in different ways. The first is Lydia. Paul wanders down…
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Jacob is a prodigal. He’s on the run from God and his family. He’s burned bridges. He’s soured relationships because of his deception. He’s alone. God feels remote. And Jacob isn’t pursuing God. He’s not crying out to God. Some of you have been, are, or have someone in your life who is in a…
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I don’t know that any society has had more options available to them over the course of human history than we do in the U.S. in 2017. As I scan my home office where I’m writing this, I see a door knob (attached to a door), a backpack, my phone, the computer I’m writing on…
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