God

THE GREATEST APOLOGETIC – The Deepest Desire of the Human Heart

Dr. Tommy Boland
12 Jan 2021
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apologetic

As we launch out into a brand-new year together, let’s return to our focus on apologetics, which is rooted in the Bible’s command to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). The greatest apologetic I believe that the most powerful apologetic in the world speaks to the deepest longing of the human heart: To be fully known and completely loved. This makes the Gospel, the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest apologetic […]

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Hope Will Not Disappoint

Grace Coleman
6 Jan 2021
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Do you remember where you were December 31, 2019? If you’re anything like me, you were more than ready for a fresh start. You were ready to crush some new goals, visit new places, spend that heavily-depended-upon paycheck a little more wisely, seal off some disappointments from the previous year and basically get your life together. Or at least a little more together than the year before.    Every New Year’s Eve, I am hopeful. Hopeful for something new. Hopeful for change. Hopeful for progress. And there is indeed progress, but inevitably, every year I ride the wave of unmet […]

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hope

Time To Dance In The Garden

Stephan Tchividjian
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Dance in the Garden

2020 started with a worship service in downtown Miami led by Kanye West and the Sunday Service Choir and ended with me listening to the same choir singing “Emmanuel,” God with us and “That’s How the Good Lord Works.” A nice bookend to a very strange year. I know that many of us will look at 2020 and simply say, “Good riddance,” a nice way of saying goodbye and I hope we never meet again. However, I believe, though painful, many will look back and see God’s presence and handiwork. I am not sure what we all learned (or are […]

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The Glorious Serendipity of the Gospel’s Comic Turn

Dr. Warren Gage
4 Jan 2021
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Read the Passage: Genesis 3:20 Serendipity is a splendid word that captures the essence of the gospel’s movement from suffering to glory (Luke 24:26). Its formal definition is “an unexpected yet pleasant outcome.” It is the familiar “blessing in disguise.” The effect of this unexpected redemption upon our guilty souls is one of deep and profound irony. It astounds us. It amazes us with wonder. When we expect “poetic justice” to be charged against us, we are shocked instead to discover God’s plan for us is “poetic mercy.” The mercy of grace is serendipitous! In the biblical world, where resurrection […]

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Serendipity

Church United Launches Historic New Evangelistic Effort in 2021

Edwin Copeland
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Churches Care

2020 sent our friends, neighbors and co-workers searching Google and YouTube looking for answers to some of life’s biggest questions. Alongside hundreds of other local churches from across Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties, we believe that now is the time to collaborate together and unify around one of the greatest evangelistic moments of our time. It’s been said that great movements of God are fueled when gospel patrons and gospel proclaimers collaboratively work together to further the Kingdom of God in a region. South Florida has a long history of catalytic movements in the life of the Church – […]

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Jesus, the Light of the World

Dr. Warren Gage
17 Dec 2020
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on how Jesus is the Light of the World to you) A charming technique of master portrait artists is chiaroscuro, the practice of contrasting light and darkness. Gerard van Horthurst’s The Adoration of the Shepherds (1622) offers a beautiful example of this technique. In the painting, the Christ child in the manger is the sole source of light. His little body, like a frail candle in the darkness, scatters the shadows from all who adore him. Like master portrait artists, the Gospel writers frequently appeal to the idea that Christ is the light in […]

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light of the world

What Does the Bible Say About Santa Claus?

Jim Denison
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Santa Claus

Christmas Is a Holiday . . . and a Holy Day   With the Christmas season upon us, Jim Denison, co-founder of Denison Forum, pastor, author and digital-ministry leader, offers surprising insight on Christmas traditions and Santa Claus. “What does the Bible say about the jolly old man we see every Christmas in malls and advertisements? The short answer, of course, is nothing,” Denison said. “But there’s more to the story about Santa, just as there is more to the many other traditions associated with Christmas.” “There is also a contentious debate over the secularization of Christmas, and as a […]

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The Promise of Christmas

Dr. Tommy Boland
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“For the word of God will never fail” (Luke 1:37 NLT).   For far too many even in the church today, Christmas has declined into little more than “gift-giving” and “get-togethers.” The questions that are foremost in the minds of many are, “What did you get? What did I get?” Well, throughout the month of December, I would like you to consider this question: What is the most glorious promise of Christmas? To be sure, there are many promises that are expressed through the Babe in the manger, but there is one that rises above all the rest, and that […]

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promise

Jesus Our Emmanuel

Julie Anne Vargas
10 Dec 2020
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There are so many wonderful things that come with the Christmas season, and Christmas music about Jesus has to be top of my list. I have to admit that I started streaming Christmas as my life’s soundtrack starting mid-November. I just can’t help myself. There’s something about the words of Christmas hymns and ancient chant-like melodies that stir my soul and wrap me up in wonder. It’s almost as if time stands still and calls us to remember, to reflect, and to ponder the goodness of God in His incarnation. As the weather changes outside and it gets (slightly) cooler, […]

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Fire and Fur Coats

Stephan Tchividjian
8 Dec 2020
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There is an old Jewish term, tzaddik im peltz, meaning, “a righteous man in a fur coat.” There are two ways of keeping warm on a cold night. You can wear a fur coat or light a fire. Wear a fur coat and you warm only yourself. Light a fire and you warm others. The year 2020 has been one of the most unusual years of my life (and I could be so bold and suggest the same is true of you). The year has been polarizing. We have all experienced loss and gain, peace and fear, loneliness and community […]

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