God

Extension – A Pattern to Imitate

Elizabeth Mitchell
17 Jan 2019
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“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, . . . so that you became an example to all the believers” (1 Thessalonians 1:6–7). Suppose they could actually speak to us, the characters described throughout the pages of Scripture whom we barely consider as we swiftly scan their stories. What would they say, what lines would they extend from their noble hearts to ours, these men and women whose lives brushed against the Savior when dust clung to his feet and wrinkles marked his robes? We usually learn from the familiar ones: Mary’s willing heart and Elizabeth’s blameless […]

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Finding Happiness

Norm Wise
10 Jan 2019
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“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26, NLT).   What is happiness? Is happiness an intense feeling of pleasurable satisfaction? Is happiness dependent on the circumstances […]

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We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Box

Stephan Tchividjian
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Box of Mystery Years ago, when our children were younger, we used to schedule “mystery family vacations.” The idea was a brilliant one, I might add. The concept was simple. Lisa and I would devise a fun family vacation but keep it a secret. We would simply share with our children the date of departure, the date of return and provide them a packing list, inserted with a few decoys to throw them off. The first year our children complained that we were terrible parents trying our best to ruin their lives, (jury is still out on that one) but […]

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Banyan Air’s Don Campion Defined His Mission at Lifework Leadership

Shelly Pond
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Corporate Planes flying into Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport are welcomed to the beautiful Key West style Banyan Air Terminal where friendliness is the norm and pilots can expect top-notch service. Behind it all is Don Campion, a South Floridian who was raised in Nigeria by missionary parents. A family man with a heart for community, Campion has built a company culture second to none. He recently completed a lofty effort to restore the missionary hospital in the African bush of Egbe, Nigeria, where his parents once served. Don Campion is a Lifework Leadership alum and a major sponsor of the […]

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Church United: Fourth Year of Collaboration

Edwin Copeland
3 Jan 2019
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As a new year begins, the Church United story enters into year four of our mission to unite churches of our region for the purpose of seeing God’s kingdom descend upon South Florida. For the last three years pastors and ministry leaders have been connecting and collaborating together in their common desire to share faith, give hope and extend love. If 2018 taught us anything, it proved that we really are stronger together. As one local pastor put it at last year’s Love South Florida night of worship and celebration, “Church United is moving deeper into our hearts.” Looking towards […]

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Dr. Tommy Boland
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“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:23-25). A kind of mirror The great Protestant reformer, John Calvin, who contributed so much to our present-day understanding of Scripture, undoubtedly had James […]

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A Christmas Post: Mary’s Message

Rob Hoskins
19 Dec 2018
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I love thinking about the Christmas story from Mary’s vantage point. Everyone remembers being a teenager… you’re figuring out your gifts and beginning to envision the future. Imagine teenage Mary and her prospects for the future as a poor, obscure Jew. Suddenly, she is visited by an angel and endowed with a mandate like no other in history! “In the Sixth Month God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her […]

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The Reason for the Season

Dr. Tommy Boland
3 Dec 2018
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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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Have You Thought Lately About the Blessedness of Subtraction?

Dr. Gary Hewins
12 Nov 2018
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Maybe there is an aspect of God that is far too unnoticed? God is a Taker. We want the Lord to add to our lives, but don’t we also want Him to be a “Subtractor?” Who doesn’t think about God as a Giver? We are never more like God than when we give, right? “For God so loved the world, He gave…”(John 3:16). But divine math accentuates subtraction. In October of every year, I take my staff through an annual planning process that charts a course for the following year of strategic ministry. Every year I emphasize three words that […]

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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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