Active Faith

How to Find Purpose in Thanksgiving

What if we’ve completely missed God’s intended purpose of Thanksgiving? What if this is the year we should “do it right” but missed it?  There are great mandates to celebrate by remembering what God has done for us, and yet so often we celebrate the “celebration” and forget the intended purpose. The Lord’s Supper is a perfect example. So often you can take part in the Lord’s Supper at church and totally forget to do the work of doing it “in remembrance of Him.”   Refocus Thanksgiving is another example. The first Thanksgiving celebration was a time of thanking God. […]

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Thanks-Living – More Thankful for the Giver than the Gifts

There are many ways for Christians to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Since we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, let us focus on one of the best ways to witness to the truths of the Gospel – Thanks-Living, by which we demonstrate to the watching world that we are more thankful for the Giver of the gifts than the gifts themselves. Here is one of the best examples in all of sacred Scripture of what Thanks-Living looks like in a child of God. “I heard […]

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Jesus, Only Jesus – Song Story

Fifteen attempts and nothing. This song’s theme is too broad and it won’t work. The task is too much. The spiritual weight, too heavy. How could a song be written about a revival that would usher in a move of God? What message could contain the power of repentance? As Village Hymns set out to write this song called “Jesus, Only Jesus,” these were the questions burning in our bones. Jesus comes Quickly, Jesus swooped in and redirected our questions. With His gentle voice, He reminded us of His power and His might. He placed His books on history in […]

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The Houseguest

I recently came across an interesting story that got me thinking…   A mysterious letter A small family, known as the Harts, living in an average suburban community, received an unusual letter from an unknown distant relative. The letter stated that within the next several weeks they were planning to visit and were appreciative (nice way of saying expectant) of their willingness to provide accommodations. There was no contact information, only a black and white photograph with the grainy picture of an old man. You can only imagine their apprehension, confusion and curiousity.   The Harts were a young couple, married […]

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Looking Forward to Heaven Together

Warren and I met when we were 11 in high school and began dating at 16. I had the joy of leading him to the Lord when he had asked God for a sign that He was real and was supernaturally spared in an auto accident. We married at 19. He was the only Christian in his nominally Catholic family, and we began praying for their salvation. Fast forward 40 plus years and we were still praying. At the beginning of September, the opportunity finally opened up for us to visit our mothers in England. Both are 83, and since […]

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Church Leaders Discuss State of the Church

Last month over 300 local churches gathered for Church United’s State of South Florida featuring David Kinnaman, president of Barna Research Group to unveil the findings from one of the largest research projects ever conducted on the state of the Church in South Florida. Equipped with this research, we believe South Florida churches are poised to collaborate like never before in awakening the people in our pews for mission.  Heres’ the bottom line: Rather than asking what are we going to do, we need to ask what are we going to change. We are after outcomes, not outputs. In a post-covid […]

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Franklin Graham: Living as People of the Cross

(Leave a comment below on what you feel it means to live as a “person of the Cross.” ) Like many Americans, I was appalled and sickened by the images of desperate Afghan citizens clinging to the undercarriage of a C-47 transport plane at the Kabul airport as they sought to flee the return of the Taliban’s brutal rule. When the news came that 13 American service members had died at the hands of a suicide bomber, my heart broke. I could only think of wives and husbands, parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles, who would never […]

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Know Thy City: Steps to Effective Urban Ministry

You’re the God of this City You’re the King of these people You’re the Lord of this nation You are You’re the Light in this darkness You’re the Hope to the hopeless You’re the Peace to the restless You are There is no one like our God For greater things have yet to come And greater things are still to be done in this City ~Chris Tomlin “God of this City” lyrics   I am moved each time I hear this song affirming that our God is indeed God of this City. For those of us who are trying to […]

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Jesus’ Favorite Book

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). Christ’s Favorite Book Did you know that Jesus had a favorite book? Scripture makes it clear that our Lord did indeed have a favorite book — the Old Testament — the “Hebrew Bible” or the “Tanakh” — as evidenced by the fact that He quoted from it and alluded to it numerous times throughout His earthly ministry. The books Jesus quotes from most are Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah.   I must confess that Jesus’ […]

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College Ministry Reaching “Hundreds and Hundreds” with Help from PBA Grad

How exciting it is to see young people find God’s calling for their lives! Palm Beach Atlantic University faculty and staff consider it a sacred privilege to help in this discernment. Consider Daniel Judge, whose story illustrates how important it is in all our organizations and personal lives to be a part of this process. Daniel Judge, PBA Grad “Leaders step up when others step back. That was Daniel at PBA,” said Campus Pastor Dr. Bernie Cueto. “I do not remember a conversation we ever had where Daniel was not proactively thinking about ministry and leadership and how to apply […]

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