Why Examine? To illustrate how Israel had failed to measure up to his standard, God gives Amos a vision: This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. ( Amos 7:7-8 ) The Decisions We Make Every day we are required to mak

What Is Invitation? There is a spiritual gift that comes from the Spirit called hospitality, maybe you can think of someone who is exceptionally gifted in that area, someone who sets the example for you. One of the realities of spiritual gifts is that in some way each of us carries each of the gifts they just may not be as dominant as the others in our lives. So for me personally I am gifted with teaching, preaching, and prayer as my dominant gifts and hospitality is most cer

The focus of advent season is centered on story, specifically the story of God moving and working and the importance of it. This week's practice is a culmination of what advent is all about, giving people the story of God by sharing our faith..... specifically without embarrassment. It should come as no surprise that the goal of this week's practice is to....share your faith .....with someone ....without embarrassment.   All that is left is to discern Why? How? When?   What D

“Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’”  —John 4:39 “ And [the angel] said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples . . .’”  —Mark 16:6–7a A Good Story The Holidays are a great time for storytelling. Ever since I was a child, I have loved hearing a good story. Stories univers

Yesterday we discussed listening to our heavenly father as He speaks calling over our life. Our noisy, distraction-filled world makes discerning the voice of God incredibly difficult. We are very quick to fill any moment of silence with music, podcasts, social media, etc. There's a time and a place for these things, but they often overrun every spare moment. This week, I want to challenge us to the discipline of silence and listening. This is exactly what it sounds like; it’s

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Spiritual Celebration? Prayer. Fasting. Meditation. Bible reading. These are the sorts of spiritual practices that tend to be explored most frequently when thinking about the ways in which we worship God. But, celebration? Celebration often gets left in the realm of “the world” because it’s not exclusively a spiritual discipline. And, other than a few big guys each year (hello Easter and Christmas), we tend to follow the rhythm of celebration for the culture we find ourselves

Why then, since we are watched from above by such a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of all that weighs us down, of the sinful habit that clings so closely, and run, with all endurance, the race for which we are entered. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the origin and the crown of all faith, who, to win his prize of blessedness, endured the cross and made light of its shame, Jesus, who now sits on the right of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Striving To The Goal When you

Why Does God Ask Us To Be A Child? We live in a culture that tells you to grow up fast and get work done quickly, but we serve a God that asks us to be still, and learn from the way that children live life. Life can have a way of bogging down our spiritual connection with God because of how busy we feel. Our spiritual practice this week invites us to let all the extra stuff in life fade away and to simply let yourself enjoy a moment with God. Why is Joy Important to God?     

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  29  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) This is probably one of the most comforting, scriptures in the entire Bible. Come to me. Those carrying heavy burdens can come. Those laboring endlessl

Is My Worship "Authentic"? The term “Authentic Worship” is what I used to describe this week’s discipline, and for some that may come off as an insult. I am not implying that anyone’s worship is not genuine, I am simply saying we can be disciplined in the way that we worship genuinely. For most people the busyness of day to day can be a tedious activity that takes up the bulk of your day. Believe it or not as a pastor I also have to be intentional about my time with God…. Or

Yesterday we discussed changing our perspective in the way that we view God and His motivation, one of the best ways to do this is to saturate ourselves in biblical truth instead of whatever false narrative we may have come to believe. " Breath Prayer " is an amazing way to slow down the clock and saturate ourselves in the truths of God. Stop and breathe Breath prayer is an ancient Christian practice of uttering as prayers simple and repeatable phrases that can be said in on

Why Change How I Read? Do you ever find that your bible reading is getting mundane? stale? unenjoyable? tedious? ..... well you are not as alone as you may think. In fact, it has been a struggle for so long that even the early church found ways to spice up their "daily devotion". What Is This Exactly?     This Latin phrase literally means "divine reading" and it is entirely focused on listening to your heart and it finds its roots all the way back in the Hebrew tradition of S

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and per

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The Sweetness of Doing Nothing Lets just put it simply "Holy Leisure" is doing nothing for God's sake... we do nothing... but we do it...

The term “Genuine Worship” is what I might use to describe this week’s discipline, and for some that may come off as an insult. I am not...

What's Stewardship? When we are Frugal (responsible) with our resources, we create opportunity for us to be generous to other people....