VALUE: MULTI-GENERATIONAL AND MULTI-NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Visioning what heaven will be like is something beyond us even if “we can only imagine.” Revelation 5:8-10 pictures living creatures and elders in worship before Jesus singing a song that says “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were...
VALUES: FAITH – PART TWO
Our insurance company sent us a DVD on “Facing the Risk.” It features a section on the top ten liability risks facing Christian Charities. It also presents an overview of effective abuse prevention strategies for our organization. I mentioned yesterday that part of...
Values: FAITH -PART ONE
In Faith’s family we have three key values which we use as a grid to mark the kind of community we would like to see. Today, I asked a newcomer over coffee what he observed about his experience so far at the church. He said, “I’ve been to a lot of churches and it’s...
Vision
It seems obvious doesn’t it? When you are driving at night you put on your headlights? Why? So you can see where you’re going. Mission is about knowing where you are going and vision is about seeing where you are going. At Faith, our mission and vision statements are...
What’s it All About?
The messages I get often start with Why or Where. Why is God letting this happen to me? Where is God right now and why isn’t he answering my prayers? Why am I here? Rick Warren, in his book Better Together (p. 12), says “the purpose of your time on earth is not...
What Else Is Out There? Don’t Read This – part 2.
Being a parent seems to be getting more challenging all the time. We’ve hardly got our children walking and we’re being warned to “stranger proof” them at the same time we’re trying to socialize them; we’re encouraged to get them into SMART start but not to expose...
Don’t Read This
Once again, don’t read this if you don’t want to know how bad things are in our city. Don’t read this if you don’t want to admit how hard things are just to be human in this environment. Don’t read this if you think you are the only one struggling with sexual...
What Should I Ask For?
The Lord’s Prayer is a great template for us as we begin to grow in our intentional communication with God. We see him as our Father, someone to be honored in his place of authority as we submit ourselves to his designs for our life and our world. We express our trust...
Does Prayer Change Anything?
One of the most frequent requests I get as a pastor is for prayer. Regardless of whether the issue is sickness, finances, relationships, housing, spiritual confusion or lack of wisdom the natural desire for many of us is to ask for prayer. But does it really change...
Distinguishing God from nature
We live in an age where many seem to worship the creation more than the Creator. The lines between stewardship of creation and worship of creation are blurring. This probably shouldn’t surprise us as the signs of this shift are evident in our culture. We have people...