Active Faith

The Reason for the Season

Dr. Tommy Boland
3 Dec 2018
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reason

It’s that most wonderful time of the year again! Throughout December it is likely you will see or hear the phrase, “The Reason for the Season.” There is only one true reason, of course, and His name is Jesus Christ. And that reason does not spring from an uninformed, blind leap of faith. To those who sneer that believing in the Babe in the manger is like believing in Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you can calmly and kindly reply that the birth of Christ is an historical event that is beyond contestation, which took place just over 2000 years ago […]

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10 Biblical Truths Gen Z Needs Right Now

Rob Hoskins
5 Nov 2018
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It is sad to hear that we have lost a great hero of the faith in Eugene Peterson. [The beloved Presbyterian minister authored more than 30 books and devotionals, including “The Message,” a paraphrase of the Bible that sold more than 16 million copies worldwide.] We will miss him for now, but will still look to the words he left behind. As the next generation attempts to navigate a loud, chaotic, and increasingly post-truth world, where culture is both pervasive and persuasive, we’d do well to point them in the direction of timeless truth for wise counsel from a respected […]

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gen z

Communication – The Thermometer of Your Marriage

Lisa May
2 Nov 2018
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communication

Fall in South Florida is challenging for those of us who long for the splendor of the leaves while dreaming of a crackling fire and meaningful conversations. The temperature and humidity are often smothering, so we lower the degree on our AC and light a candle to set the mood. Our health is often measured by our body temperature. When it rises above 97.8 we begin to exhibit symptoms associated with an illness, go to a physician and often begin some type of medication to treat the symptoms and the disease. When it drops below 97.8 we begin to exhibit […]

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Congregations Invited to Love South Florida

Edwin Copeland
1 Nov 2018
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Every November, we encourage local congregations who participate in Church United to pray, give + serve together in benefit of their communities. LoveSFL is an outward, annual expression of an inward reality. It personifies what unity for the sake of mission is all about. However, it’s also just the beginning. LoveSFL is meant to be catalytic. Now in our third year, Love South Florida has seen great success. Last year, together we raised $337,000, collected over 100,000 pounds of food and logged over 40,000 volunteer hours! But what if we’re only just getting started? Owning the pain of South Florida is an essential and inescapable […]

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congregations

Bragging Rights

Elizabeth Mitchell
17 Oct 2018
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‘“Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). They ooze out like sticky syrup, splotching conversation unnecessarily. Boastful words. Braggadocios challenges. Arrogant assumptions. Pride raises its puffed head and portrays pretentious imagery. Everyone discovers its nonsense, eventually. We are quick to speak of accomplishments, share where we’ve been and people we know, sort of. Photos depicting charmed lives elevate our status. We post and pose our perfect worlds as selfish pride points the camera on us; all […]

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Being Childlike in a Childish World

Dr. Gary Hewins
8 Oct 2018
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Imagine a humble, little first-century home existing within the New Testament era. Picture a dinner being prepared in a small, humble kitchen in first-century Palestine. A family is about to have a meal together. Out in the courtyard—outside the home—children are playing, running about and laughing. Just outside of the kitchen in the common area, there is a chair. In the chair is the head of the household, and he is sitting down after a long, hard day’s work, listening and peering out the window at his children as they play. His little girl in the front yard hears her […]

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Jesus Christ: One Way or The Only Way to Heaven?

Dr. Tommy Boland
1 Oct 2018
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way

One of the most common concerns that people raise with me is the exclusivity of the Christian faith. Many people in our postmodern, relativistic society want to believe that all roads lead to heaven. In 2016 Lifeway Research conducted a poll and found that 60 percent of all Americans believe that “Heaven is a place where all people will ultimately be reunited with their loved ones.” Only 40 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement that “Hell is an eternal place of judgment where God sends all people who do not personally trust in Jesus Christ.”(1) Heaven or Hell? […]

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Praying with My Eyes Open

Rob Hoskins
26 Sep 2018
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I started 2018 with fasting and prayer. During an early prayer time, I felt God calling me to intercede like never before for my community. He asked me to grant these people, with whom I share proximity, a higher level of priority. I struggled with how to pray for my neighbors and their needs beyond a general covering thinking, “There’s gotta be an app for that.” An app for praying Not finding a “pray for your neighbors” app, I downloaded the Nextdoor app and began praying through daily posts. As I read each post, I brought my neighbors’ names and […]

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praying

Who’s Got Zach’s Back?

Stephan Tchividjian
12 Sep 2018
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zach

Imagine living your life in such a manner that increasingly no one wanted to be around you.  You were so self-obsessed and so focused on your own “so called” success that people and relationships did not matter. Now, imagine something happened that changed all that. Perhaps a book you read, perhaps a sermon you heard, perhaps a caring friend that spoke into your life, but you truly had a “scrooge moment” and woke up with a new perspective. You were different. You assumed everyone would be happy and excited and want to celebrate this new you. However, you were not received the way you thought you would be. Perhaps […]

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RUF Reaches College Students at FAU

The Good News
5 Sep 2018
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RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) recently kicked off  its third year of ministry on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton. A ministry of the PCA denomination, RUF’s mission is to reach students for Christ and to equip them to serve the church. According to Campus Minster, Rev. Jeff Lee, who is also an FAU alumnus, College is a pivotal moment in a student’s life where questions of identity, purpose, meaning, and hope are constantly being discussed and explored.  For those reasons, RUF is committed to sending seminary trained, ordained pastors to campuses around the country in order to bring […]

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