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I am thoroughly enjoying Judah Smith's book, Jesus Is _______.   Here are a few quotes from several chapters I read last week: "Jesus and joy are always a package deal. . .The answer to your joy problem is the gospel." "Sometimes preachers feel that we have to balance the good news and the bad news. . . It's human nature to mistrust what seems too good to be true. Let's settle in our hearts once and for all that Jesus is too good to be true. Salvation is too good to be true. Grace is too good to be true. Heaven is too good to be true. . . There's nothing bad or sad about God's gospel." "One of the reasons the gospel is so good is that it's more about God than about us. . .Religion says that obedience brings acceptance. The gospel teaches the opposite: acceptance brings obedience." "It's a holiness that is internally motivated, a holiness powered by love, not by guilt." "That is the gospel: God is with us...

I finished reading Creature of the Word by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger last week.  I would recommend the book to pastors and church leaders.  It has a great focus on the gospel and how to keep Jesus central in the church. At the end of the book, they talked about our lack of celebration in the Body of Christ.  Here is a quote: "Not only should celebration be encouraged and modeled corporately, but it should also be encouraged personally." They shared that we need to point out the evidences of grace that surround us daily.  Here is what it accomplishes: First, we are celebrating the work of God. Second, we are teaching others to be on the lookout for grace. Third, celebration should also propel us to long for more of God's Spirit. What are examples of celebration in your church? I can share three from Hesston MB.  Balloon Celebrations when children follow Christ Baptism services Weekly encouragement to share what God is doing in your life duri...

On Friday, I was participating in my daily schedule of praying for people and church.  Occasionally, my mind will wander and I have to ask God to help stay focused.  On this day, I was worshiping by singing along with a song on YouTube.  And all of a sudden, I had a thought of something I needed to write down. Rather than be discouraged, I stopped and asked God to reveal to me all the thoughts related to this sermon I am preaching on May 19th.  Let me just say, "Praise God! Amen. Wow!  Over the next twenty minutes, God revealed each of those thoughts in addition to reassuring me of His great love for me.  This was a powerful experience with God.  I cannot put it into words, but God revealed Himself through thoughts, emotions, words, and more.  Why do I share?  Because in a post later this week, I write about the importance of celebrating what God is doing.  I want to celebrate not only God's answer to my prayer, but also His reminder...

We believe God is powerful. But how does this power affect us? Listen to these words from Scripture: I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know . . .his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:18-19) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. (Ephesians 3:16) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20) Finally, be strong in The Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6:20) Are we going to believe these truths? Will we in the church begin to use the power that is available to us? May we be empowered by God today in amazing and unbelievable ways!

Here is a great illustration and teaching from Steven Furtick of Elevation Church.  Do you believe this?  If not, ask God to reveal why not and immerse yourself in His Word.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a conference entitled, "The Goodness of God."  Due to scheduling, I was not able to attend every session.  However, I was able to attend most of it.  I thought I would share a few quotes from the conference: "We need to make Jesus the center of our theology." "Much of the church is bipolar in their belief about God. You never know, He might be good or bad." "Love assumes the best about someone. Why don't we do this with God?" "John 10:10 gives us the job descriptions of Satan and God." "Jesus didn't just come to die for sin, but also to reveal who the Father is." "In the church, we see Jesus and God like good cop/bad cop." "We need to read the Old Testament with a Jesus compass." "Why is the church impotent? We are double minded about God." "Repentance is wise and grounded in grace." "God is only all-pow...

I seem to be having a lot of conversations lately about the law and gospel.  We understand that the law cannot save us.  The law has no power.  What is the point of the law then?    Check out these verses: 3  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)   6  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6)  My understanding is the law points out of our sin and points us to Jesus. Grace is where the power is.  Grace brings about the change in our lives. Here are a few quotes f...