God

Rise Above the Rubble

Dr. Tommy Boland
3 Mar 2014
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rise

(How does God make you rise above rubble? Please comment below.) Life is marked by painful providences. We face trials and tribulations throughout our lives, from the moment we are born until the moment we die. As my momma was fond of saying, “Jesus never promised you a rose garden on this side of the grave.” No, in fact He promised just the opposite:“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As a pastor I have the […]

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Four Keys to Understanding the Bible

Knox Seminary
4 Feb 2014
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By: Dr. Sam Lamerson Whether you have been in church your entire life or are brand new to the faith, you will undoubtedly, at times, encounter Bible passages that are difficult to understand. The scriptures themselves speak of this, as the Apostle Peter says, “. . . just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as […]

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understanding

Love Needs No Legislation!

Dr. Tommy Boland
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legislation

(Scroll down to leave a comment on why love needs no legislation) Back in August I had the privilege of marrying Mark and Kaitlin, the young couple who head up our Young Adults ministry at Cross Community Church. Starting with pre-engagement coaching, we spent a considerable amount of time over the past year talking together about the stuff of marriage. I remember discussing the all-too-common prenuptials that many bring into their marriages today, even Christian marriages. A prenuptial is defined as: “A contract entered into prior to marriage which commonly includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support […]

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Living the Good Life

Jeremy McKeen
3 Feb 2014
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How do you live the good life? What do you need to know or do in order to really live life as it’s meant to be lived? Jesus taught that, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). This means that there are two ways to pursue this sense of life to the full. There’s one approach that works and one that doesn’t. What you can’t live on What does Jesus mean by “live” and “bread”? The Greek word he uses for live is zoe, and it means […]

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Punk’d by Grace

Tullian Tchividjian
1 Feb 2014
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grace

During a radio interview last week, the interviewer told me a story that gets to the heart of how grace transforms. He was a camp counselor one summer and one of his responsibilities was to go around with another counselor and check the cabins every morning while the students were at breakfast. In order to motivate them to keep their cabins clean, awards were given at the morning assembly to the students who had the cleanest cabin. One morning the counselors walked into one of the cabins only to discover that it had been intentionally trashed. The students thought it […]

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A People of Peace

Edwin Copeland
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In a recent exit survey, Asia, a 5-month pregnant mother with one child, had this to say about her time in HOPE South Florida’s crisis-housing program as she graduated into more permanent housing: “I would like to say a special thank you to the staff, volunteers and supporters of HOPE South Florida! After finding crisis housing in your Faith-In-Action program, I now know I am loved, not alone, and have hope for a brighter future. Thank you for taking such great care of my daughter and I during our time of need.” Believe it or not, Asia’s words are meant […]

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people of peace

Do One Hard Thing in 2014

Doug Sauder
13 Jan 2014
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I don’t know about you, but the pressure and pace of life seems to be increasing every year. When you add the constant bombardment of information and technology to our already full schedules, slowing life down seems as unlikely as stopping a runaway freight train. On top of that, add twenty-seven New Year’s resolutions, and it is no wonder most of us give them up by February. The simple truth is that it’s hard to add one more thing to our lives; but maybe that is what we really need. Maybe in 2014, we need to add one hard thing. […]

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The Scandal of Grace

Lori Harding
11 Jan 2014
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I often hear the phrase: “Grace doesn’t mean you get to do what you want.” At first glance, who would disagree with this? I mean, we cannot just have people running around engaged in extramarital affairs, living it up at wild parties and quitting their jobs, can we? If grace means people can do what they want, what kind of world would this be and what would become of our churches? Christians would sleep in, not tithe, and skip small group! Total chaos would ensue! Grace defined But this line of reasoning exposes a negligent understanding of grace, and that’s […]

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Why Do We Need To Go To Church?

Bob Woods
10 Jan 2014
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In this era of modern technology and innovations in communication, the question may be raised: do we really need to go to church? Why not stay home and watch it on the Internet, or catch a television service, whether on national TV, or our local service which may be televised. There are many good reasons why we need to be there in person, both from scriptural mandates and practical considerations. We are commanded to meet together Often when a preacher wants to reinforce the need for church attendance, he will quote the trustworthy scripture reference from Hebrews 10:24-25 about “not […]

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Progressing Downward

Tullian Tchividjian
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Last month, I talked about Reader’s Digest Christianity, and how it reduced the Christian faith to pithy, easily-achievable goals that ensure our personal improvement. Today, I have a different (though depressingly similar) target: “LiveStrong” Christianity. LiveStrong bracelets are today even more popular than the infamous WWJD bracelets were 10 years ago, despite the public fall from grace of their namesake, Lance Armstrong. In the minds of many people inside the church, Livestrong is the essence and goal of Christianity. You hear this obsession in our lingo: We talk about someone having “strong faith,” about someone being a “strong Christian,” a […]

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