I grew up in a pastoral home in rural Minnesota. My father was a Presbyterian pastor in small farming communities. Most every Sunday we would recite the "Greater Catechism" of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. To glorify God is to please Him. Reflecting [...]

I've had people say to me, "I wish that I had great faith." Unfortunately, they did not say they wished they had great faith like I have.  The truth is, I have found myself in short supply of practical faith over the years. I have prayed many times over the years that my faith would [...]

I wanted to wrap up our conversation on Timothy the Instagram Ninja this week by exploring perhaps the most important aspect of social media engagement as Christ-Followers; within the context of our culture we must acknowledge that how we portray ourselves publicly matters. Two passages in 1 Timothy (2:8 - 10 and 3:1 - 13) go to great lengths to describe [...]

We have been chatting about the challenges of social media; the navigation of the fast-moving waters of our times. Should Christ followers be a part of the online conversations? As tempting as it is for some to completely avoid the social media realm, like it or not, I believe we must engage in ways that [...]

Last week we began a discussion on the topic of social media. We suggested the possibility that Timothy would have been an Instagram Ninja. No doubt he was a natural influencer, so much so that the Apostle Paul had every confidence in his ability to speak the Truth and keep the Faith during a time [...]

I ran across this article a few days ago by Luke Greenwood. Luke works for an organization called Steiger Europe. Steiger is a worldwide mission organization that is called to reach and disciple the Global Youth Culture for Jesus. He resides in Warsaw, Poland.The title of the article: "If Timothy had Instagram" compelled me to [...]

I trust you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to another year of INTENTIONAL service for the Kingdom. May this be the year that the Lord returns. I do not make New Years' Resolutions, but I do have a few enduring admonitions from the Word of God that I attempt to live out each day. I wish [...]

Merry Christmas to you and yours! The first words we hear our Creator speak are recorded in Genesis 1: 3: "And God said, 'Let there be light." The next verse says, "And God saw that the light was good." God loves light! God designed humankind to live in the light. Light is God's chosen tool to remove us [...]

In its purest sense, Christmas is about giving. Modeling this beautiful idea is God the Father. Galatians 4:4 informs us that at "just the right time," God sent forth His son, sacrificially gifting humankind with the means to our salvation. We celebrate this priceless present by remembering the first gift. Last week we shared the following 3 thoughts about [...]

With the passage of time and increased maturity, our excitement regarding Christmas may change. But our reason for celebrating grows deeper and more meaningful as our focus shifts from gifts to Christ. Who is the giver of the most amazing and valuable of all gifts? The giver of THE gift was God the Father. "But when the [...]