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The Rest of the Gospel (Feature Friday 11/1/19)

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That line has been spoken countless times in courts, movies, and interactions. On the surface, we all want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. However, at least for me, there are times when people give me just that and I don’t enjoy receiving it as much as I thought.

As a follower of Jesus, one who believes Jesus of Nazareth is the only one who can deal with my deepest problem and fulfill my greatest needs, I believe we think of the gospel the same way we view this statement about truth. We love the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel, but when the whole gospel is revealed to us it’s a difficult thing. I think the underlying problem is we don’t actually know or want “The Rest of the Gospel“.

As Craig Ethridge states in his article, “This is why so many Christians live defeated lives. They want salvation, but not change. They want to know God, but they don’t want to obey God. They want God’s love, but they don’t want Him to be Lord.” Ouch! But the reality is the gospel that soothes our souls is also the gospel that changes our lives.

Enjoy the article and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day. I’d love to hear your feedback and thoughts as well. What do you think? Why is it so easy to accept a gospel that saves us from sin, but difficult to acknowledge that the same gospel transforms our lives?

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (12/29/17)

It’s Friday afternoon. I sit in my office contemplating the meaning of hope. What is it? How does it impact my life? And what do I put my hope in? It seems like every end of the year I go through this. I contemplate the last year. Look forward to the next and ask some important and intentional questions.

Questions like: what do I want to accomplish next year? Or what could I improve upon personally, spiritually, vocationally in the coming year? I realize all of these questions have to do with hope. And even as a follower of Jesus, finding and maintaining hope can be difficult in our day and age. But thankfully Joe Henegan offers some help.

In his article, “What 2018 Holds For Us: The Upside”, Joe offers 4 important positives 2018 will give us. As Joe says it, “There’s a lot to be excited about as we face a new year of Gospel growth worldwide.” I need to hear that and I agree.

I hope you will enjoy the article and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

*Photo from featured article.*

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Feature Friday (12/1/17)

Influence. We all have it to some degree. Whether it is just with our family, or our friends, or a larger span, the truth is we all influence others. And as John Maxwell has stated well, “Leadership is influence”. So in every situation of life that you have influence, you are a leader.

For me, that means I am a leader in my family. I am a leader in my social networks. I am a leader at work. And I am a leader at church. It is this last realm that so often seems convoluted and blurred when it comes to leadership principles. Are church leadership principles just like business leadership principles? Are church leaders only held to biblical standards? Where is the balance?

In steps Paul Sohn to give us ample direction and guidance. In his article “The 4 C’s of Christian Leadership” Paul gives us a great framework to work from as Christan leaders and as those who may be looking for leadership skills in others.

Check out the article, and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

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Feature Friday (3/3/17)

Words can be confusing. The English language is a difficult one. Do I use “their” or “there”? What about “conscious” or “conscience”? There are a lot of words and the meanings can differ slightly in light of context and usage, which can make understanding terms difficult and confusing at times.

The same is often true when words from the Bible are used. People often use similar words in very different ways, which can cause lots of communication tension. One of those biblical words often misused or misunderstood is “salvation”. As Bill Hull points out in his article “The Importance of Defining Salvation“:

“Salvation is a big word that covers a great deal of territory. We talk about the need to be saved, or we ask people, are you saved? But what does that mean? What do we need to be saved from? Why do we need to be saved? While we inherently know that humankind is in a complex conundrum of trouble, the great minds of the world have been unable to come up with an answer. God has provided an answer for us…”

Enjoy and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

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Feature Friday (2/17/17)

I was exhausted. We had just been through a day long training and testing in order to be lifeguards at the pool for the summer. There were routine aspects of this training that did not seem challenging: CPR, mouth to mouth, water rescue, etc. But the one aspect of the testing I found quite challenging was treading water. A couple of my other teammates found this easier than I, but we all agreed it was the toughest and most demanding aspect of the training and test. Why? Because treading water demands constant activity, attention, and energy.

The same can be said about the Christian life. Why is it so hard to continue to be formed into the image of Christ? Why is the life of holiness so difficult? Tim Challies shares some insight in his article: How to be Conformed to the World.

Enjoy and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lords’ Day.

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Feature Friday (6/17/16)

“What’s a parent to do? We know that God tells us to raise our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord—we get that. But what does that actually look like? How can we flesh out that simple framework?” These are the types of questions I and so many other parents have and are still asking ourselves today. So is there any help. Tim Challies provides 3 Priorities for Christian Parents, as given by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians.

As a dad I am glad God did not leave us in the dark on these issues, but I am also glad He did not leave us to figure it out on our own. This is why it is so vital to be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

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