God

Count It All Joy

Jeremy McKeen
14 Mar 2013
no comments

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 […]

-Read More

Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Jeremy McKeen
7 Feb 2013
no comments

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 […]

-Read More

by

Teen Resources

Madison Iszler
10 Jan 2013
no comments

Today’s teens are bombarded with media that encourages them to live anything but a Christian life. Where can they find media sources that will challenge and inspire them to be more like Christ and that will connect them with other like-minded teens? The following resources include magazines, podcasts, websites and apps that provide Christ-centered encouragement, advice, and more. Magazines Susie magazine, from Susie Shellenberger, the creator of BRIO Magazine, features much of the same content as BRIO once did, including devotionals and advice about girls’ daily lives and spiritual walk. More info can be found at susiemagazine.com. FCA Magazine is published bi-monthly […]

-Read More

The New and Living Way

Jeremy McKeen
3 Jan 2013
no comments

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 […]

-Read More

A Theology of Christmas

Jeremy McKeen
5 Dec 2012
no comments

“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 […]

-Read More

Rethinking Discipleship

Jeremy McKeen
7 Nov 2012
no comments

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 […]

-Read More

True Freedom

Jeremy McKeen
5 Oct 2012
no comments

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 […]

-Read More

The Millennial Manifesto

Nathan Johnson
3 Oct 2012
no comments

It felt like a scene from the show The Office. The two-day diversity training had just begun in the lobby of the Philadelphia Marriott. It was nice to escape the cubicle for a few days, but as a white male, it was impossible not to feel just a little deficient in the diversity department. Our HR leader (a middle-aged man with the same general lack of charisma as Toby) announced the first topic of discussion: Age Diversity. Age Diversity? A quick glance around the room confirmed that I was the only one under 30 in the group. I was the […]

-Read More

The Gospel of Grace

Justin Young
7 Sep 2012
3 comments

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Risking ostracism and excommunication, and later narrowly avoiding execution as a heretic, Luther took a stand against the rampant abuses taking place at the hands of the church of his day; villainous actions based upon a vast departure from the unchanging truths of God’s written Word. At the time, Luther could have no indication of the world-changing implications his single act of public protest would have. The Ninety-five Theses were the spark that ignited the raging fire we now know […]

-Read More

People of the Second Chance

Keri Williams
one comments

People of the Second Chance (POTSC) is a faith-based, non-profit organization fighting against the “Vulture Culture that celebrates personal destruction, humiliation and the division of people.” POTSC is an authentic community where people who are struggling with personal failures can share their hurts and find their own second chance moments. This is accomplished primarily through social media, media campaigns and the leveraging of tools and resources. This recent POTSC Facebook post summarizes their philosophy well: “Love most when people deserve it least because that’s when they need it most.” POTSC was birthed in 2010 from a blog Mike Foster and […]

-Read More