5 Distinguishing Marks of a Fruitful Church (link)

March 7, 2016 Church Leadership Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Recently I Tweeted a link to an article that I found helpful: Worth reading: 5 Distinguishing Marks of a Fruitful Church https://t.co/JRgCBhmZ8d via @TGC — Mark McIntyre (@mhmcintyre) March 6, 2016 I thought I would take a few moments and capture some thoughts in response to this article by Jarod Wilson. First, I would agree with […]

Abandoned by God – 1 Samuel 15:35

1 Samuel 15:35 (ESV) 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. Saul had abandoned God and as a result, God abandons Saul. Someone once said that we have two options which […]

A check that won’t bounce

During a recent Bible study where we were discussing the resurrection of Jesus I thought of the analogy of writing a check. Jesus claimed to have power over death, he claimed that he would die and then rise again. Using the analogy of writing a check, Jesus wrote a large check to us when he promised that we could be raised to new life.

How did God create man?

Thankfully, our Western culture is built around the foundational idea of the dignity of man. This thought informs our laws and our practice. We think that murder is wrong. We think that individuals have rights that should not be violated. We think that each person should be able to do or become whatever he wishes to be.

No-one beyond hope

But Jesus is the wild card that makes everything possible. The point (or at least one point) of this story is that no-one is beyond hope. No-one should be written off as no longer able to be changed. No-one.

Spiritual CPR – No Insurance Required

What is important is that I had it ALL. I had been a practicing Christian since my youth. My faith was growing. My relationship with God was solid. I had a great income. My children, though typical teenagers, were doing well. All the boxes were checked. Life was sweet UNTIL a mistake at work was made on my watch. The bottom fell out of my life. My heart figuratively stopped beating and God began to perform Spiritual CPR in order to save my life.

Defeating my inner Pharisee

Why do the Gospel writers spend so much ink on the Pharisees? What is the lesson we gain from this?