Christian Citizenship 101

Philippians 3:7-21; 4:1 Millions of America citizens were neither born in the United States nor have at least one parent who is a United States citizen. They are Americans because they have chosen to become a citizen of the U.S. by naturalization. According to the Office of U.S. Citizenshi

Why Do We Serve?

Mark 10:32-45 It is one of the most famous episodes of the classic television show The Twilight Zone. A race of aliens has landed on earth. They are much more advanced than human beings. They present a gift to the residents of earth, a book written in the aliens' language, the translated

Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts

Nineteenth in a series 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of th

A Life Less Ordinary

1 Kings 19:19-21 I don't know whether Elisha knew Elijah or not. He'd surely heard of him. I imagine the whole country was talking about how Elijah had taken on Queen Jezebel and her 400 prophets. I'll bet there were lots of stories going around about Elijah. Nowadays, Elish

What’s In It For Me?

Faith, Wealth, And Reward in the Kingdom of GodMark 10:17-31 Today I want to introduce you to two people you know well. I have heard the first man described like this: He's rich. Italian shoes. Tailored suit. His money is invested. His plastic is platinum. He lives like he flies - first

Idols, Demons, And The Lord’s Supper

Fifteenth in a series1 Corinthians 10:14-22 The text for today reads: Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we b

Disciples, Doubts, And Decisions

Matthew 11:1-19 A friend of mine works as a church consultant to help churches and their leaders become what God has called them to be. A few years back he told me about a fascinating conversation he was involved in with a group of pastors. All of these men believed the Bible, had good and succ

Four Myths About Submission In The Christian Life

John 17:1-8,13 Paul Miller, the author of Love Walked Among Us, begins teaching seminars by writing these words on a flip chart: I do nothing on my own. I can only do what I see my dad doing. He asks for analysis. In the age of Oprah and Dr. Phil, the armchair psychologists' answers com