We stand at the threshold of yet another year and, if God gives us the next 12 months, the question we need to ask and answer is this: “How does God want us to live them out?” It is far too easy to head off into another new year focusing in on ourselves and what we want rather than on our Savior and what He wants for us. It is in our DNA to ask questions like these… “What are the goals I want to accomplish?” “What are the plans I need to make?” “How far do I want to […]

(What does ’Twas the Night Before Christmas mean to you? Leave a comment down below.) Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) wrote the poem “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1822. It is a tradition in many American families to read the poem every Christmas Eve. Here is the familiar beginning portion of it… “‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions […]

(Scroll down to leave a comment on your experience hiding from God) When we read the account of the horrific fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we may not give the proper attention to the exchange between God and Adam. “The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the […]

The dictionary’s definition of complacent is “to be contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.” Sadly this describes far too many in the church today. They have grown so comfortable with their spiritual standing that they have become complacent, to the point where they are living out a Christless Christianity. Complacency vs. content Complacency is never good; contentment is another thing altogether. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to encourage us: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, […]

I learned the term “pain reflex” while I was in seminary; it refers to the witness of the early Christian church. It is said that some of the most powerful Gospel preaching came through the “pain reflex” of the early church. For many in the church today, especially in the United States, this term is somewhat foreign; we do not have to deal with much pain regarding our faith! But the early church certainly did, as have many throughout the world during the past 2,000 years.  Here are just a few examples of how the early church suffered under the […]

If God posted an ad on one of those career builder/job-seeker websites, do you know what it would look like?  Do you know the kind of person He would be looking for to do the job He has for them to do?  Well, God already posted His want ad, long before these sites became popular, and He posted it in His Scriptures:  “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). Help Wanted In God’s want ad, we see that He […]

At The Cross Community Church we are in the middle of a sermon series I am teaching on The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.  Right at the beginning of the letter we read that we are “blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing” from adoption, to the forgiveness of sins, to the gift of eternal life.  In addition to every spiritual blessing, we have the great blessings of the gift of the church.  When we are saved we are indeed saved individually.  But we are saved to community and that community is the church made up of every tongue, […]