Dig Deep

The Fruit of One-Way Love

Tullian Tchividjian
1 May 2013
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Hollywood is not known for being a culture of grace. Dog eat dog is more like it. People love you one day and hate you the next. Personal value is very much attached to box office revenues and the unpredictable and often cruel winds of fashion. It was doubly shocking, therefore, when one-way love—and its fruit—made a powerful appearance on the stage in 2011. The occasion for it was Robert Downey Jr. receiving the American Cinematheque Award, a prize given to, “…an extraordinary artist in the entertainment industry who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed […]

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Count It All Joy

Jeremy McKeen
14 Mar 2013
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Sarah couldn’t believe what her pastor said in church on Sunday. He was teaching from the book of James and she thought, “You want me to do what in my trials? Count it all joy? Impossible.” If you’re anything like Sarah, joy is the last thing you think is possible when you’re right in the midst of suffering and sudden difficulty. You frequently find yourself asking, “Why is this happening to me? Why now? Has God abandoned me?” In times of trials, joy can seem so out of reach. So how are Christians supposed to count it all joy when […]

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Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Jeremy McKeen
7 Feb 2013
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Unanswered prayers are often difficult to understand. How can Jesus really love you when you pray and nothing seems to happen? Things can actually start to become a lot worse. So what gives? How can Jesus be so loving yet remain so silent on the other end of prayer? If you have ever wrestled with these questions, you are not alone. This is exactly what happened to Martha and Mary in John 11 when they sent a message to Jesus that their brother was ill and close to death. Instead of rushing to their brothers’ aid and healing him, Jesus […]

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The New and Living Way

Jeremy McKeen
3 Jan 2013
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What is Christianity? Some people think that Christianity is just another way to find God. Others think it’s just the remains of a pre-enlightened time when people “believed in that sort of thing.” For many, it’s just an ethical code or list of values adopted as a crutch for life. But is that what the Bible teaches? What is biblical Christianity? And why should it matter? The early followers of Jesus were initially called people of “the Way” (see Acts 9:2, 24:14). This is because in Jesus – a new and final way to meet God and to be human […]

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A Theology of Christmas

Jeremy McKeen
5 Dec 2012
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“Keep Christ in Christmas!” This motto is often championed during the holiday season by well-meaning folks who paste it on the back of their vehicles or post it on their Facebook pages. But what does it really mean to live that motto out? Does it simply mean not shortening the word to “Xmas?” Even in text messages? Does it require you to rid your house of anything related to an overweight man in a tight red suit? Is it giving gifts to the underprivileged children overseas instead of your family and friends? How do you “Keep Christ in Christmas?” And […]

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Rethinking Discipleship

Jeremy McKeen
7 Nov 2012
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What comes to mind when you think of discipleship? Is discipleship a life of moral reform or inner spirituality? Is discipleship serving soup lines and social activism in the name of Jesus? Is discipleship a doctrinal course or a forty-day Bible program that a person completes and then suddenly pops out as a disciple? Discipleship has become one of the Christian “buzz words” today, and for good reason. Thankfully, there seems to be a growing group of young people who are seriously seeking to follow Christ and obey his command to “make disciples.” But what is a disciple? Why is […]

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True Freedom

Jeremy McKeen
5 Oct 2012
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Freedom is a wonderful word. In fact, freedom or liberty is at the heart of what it means to be an American, “where at least I know I’m free.” In the height of any election season, protecting the various American freedoms is rightly at the forefront of the political debates. But have you ever asked yourself, “What is true freedom? Is freedom simply the accumulation of my various civil rights? Is freedom merely an outward experience or more of an inward experience? Am I truly free?” True Freedom There’s a famous scene in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace (played […]

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Salt and Light

Jeremy McKeen
7 Sep 2012
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Commentary If you hang around Christian circles long enough, you may hear someone talking about the need for Christians to be “salt and light” in the world. Or, if you’ve been a Christian since early childhood, you probably remember singing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” But what do these metaphors actually mean? Let’s dig a little deeper. By identifying His disciples as the “salt and light” of the world (Matt.5:13-16), Jesus was saying some pretty strong things about the condition of the world and the Christian in the world. The Condition of the World Let’s […]

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Do’s and Don’ts of Giving With the Gospel

Jeremy McKeen
1 Aug 2012
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I saw him all alone by the payphone, pacing back and forth and noticeably upset. I glanced over at him several times as I pumped my gas and noticed what looked like blood on his forehead. He obviously needed help, but whose help? Mine? What could I do? I had a decision to make. Would I drive away and just pray for someone to come by that could help? Or would I walk over and seek to be that someone? I remember praying something like, “God, if you can use me, use me,” and I walked over to him. But […]

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Renewing the Mind

Jeremy McKeen
1 Jul 2012
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How do you change your life? How do you overcome that habit and break free from that destructive pattern of behavior? Do you know how to become more like Christ? What do you say to your friend who tells you, “I want to change, but I don’t know where to start?” Thankfully, the key to lasting change can be known. The apostle Paul says, “…Be transformed by the renewal of your minds” (Rom.12:2). The secret to all lasting transformation is the renewal of your mind. But what does renewing your mind really mean? Why is it necessary for change? And […]

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