Inward Transformation to the Outward Expression of Life
"The central prayer that Paul offers for these brothers and sisters, that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened through the work of the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation to know three specific spiritual realities, would only take place within the context of a growing knowledge of God. Growing in a knowledge of God is the prerequisite, and it is one that I'm afraid that we largely neglect in our culture."
(For the message from Sunday, October 24, 2021: “The King Returns: The Word Comes Again.” You can view this sermon at the bottom of this post.) Yesterday we continued our series through the book of Revelation by walking through verses 11 through 21 in chapter 19. After the series of hallelujah choruses cascading from heaven... Continue Reading →
True peace and security cannot be found within this broken world. Period. So we are faced with the choice. Will we choose pragmatism or will we believe in God's Word and in his promises?
My primary purpose here is pastoral, not political. I am simply exhorting you to remember and consider your supreme and primary identity as ambassadors of King Jesus and His Kingdom. I am simply exhorting you to remember and consider your greatest stewardship; the one that comes before any other aspects of stewardship you consider. Our greatest stewardship is in regards to the gospel.
I had the privilege of preaching through Psalm 84 this past Sunday with my faith family at Westwood. A significant portion of the Psalm offers the perspective of the people of God making what many believe to be a festive pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The completion of this journey offered the opportunity for... Continue Reading →
When anything other than Jesus becomes our hope (or our wealth, security, sufficiency, completeness, joy, safety, etc...), whatever we have replaced him with has become an idol. And when we place anything on that throne, we will defend it. We will justify it. We will protect it. We will cease to allow the gospel to confront it. We will hang a Do Not Disturb sign on it. As Gerald said on Sunday, "Our idols will always make demands of us."
I had the honor of preaching yesterday at my church, Westwood. Our pastor has been faithfully walking us through the Book of Isaiah. Last Sunday we arrived in chapter 28. Peter quotes a portion from this chapter in the second chapter of his first letter: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone... Continue Reading →
If you didn't get a chance to see the Coca-Cola ad from last night's SuperBowl, you can watch it below. That ad resonates with so many, largely because we live in such a broken world. People are grasping for answers to the tragic problems of hate and bullying, so Coke spends millions of dollars in... Continue Reading →
Our family had the awesome opportunity to see Rend Collective in concert this past Friday night. I have wanted to see them live for some time, so this was a real treat for me! If you are not familiar with Rend, they are a worship band from Ireland; although, on Friday night they actually referred to... Continue Reading →
God's rebuke of his priests in Malachi offers a sobering picture of the reality of marginal giving for the Church today. To understand this, we must fully understand the context of this heavy passage in light of the entire biblical narrative. In his indictment, God accuses the Priests of "offering polluted food upon my altar"... Continue Reading →
know. be. do. 