Practical Application

You Are Bountiful

Dr. Gary Hewins
9 Sep 2019
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In Christ, you have a grasp of the far-reaching implications of generosity. You know that you are never more like your Lord than when you give. “For God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16). For you, faith, generosity and love are inseparable. Your faith is fully alive and fully energized by Spirit-led biblical generosity. While others think they own what they have, they can actually be owned by what they have. You are aware of the truth that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. You own nothing. God owns everything. You steward all that […]

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Shoves and Tugs

Stephan Tchividjian
5 Sep 2019
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I recently read an interesting article in Forbes magazine regarding the unexpected retirement of Andrew Luck, the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. There were several items that stood out to me while reading this article. Andrew retired from a very promising career in football, leaving upwards of $500 million of unearned potential on the table because of both physical and emotional injuries. He said he lost his joy. The article went on to state that he had been sacked a league-high 156 times in the first 70 games of his career (ouch!) and that his offensive line had been mismanaged […]

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tug-of-war

Rogue Waves: Is the risk worth the reward?

Rob Hoskins
4 Sep 2019
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rogue wave

In 1979, a potentially huge oil field was discovered on the Grand Banks. It had the potential to restore economic hope to the fast-dwindling provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador. The location of the oil field, however, was treacherous – requiring oil rigs to be able to handle such threats as icebergs and severe storms. The Ocean Ranger mobile offshore drilling unit was hired to explore this opportunity. On the morning of Valentine’s Day 1982, the Ocean Ranger received a report of a strong winter storm forecast to hit later that day and last into the evening. They continued to drill. […]

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Uniting the Church In Worship

Julie Anne Vargas
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Sometimes it takes a single spark in the heart of one that God uses to spread something impactful to a community. The vision of Village Hymns began four years ago inside the heart of a local South Florida worship leader. Josh Bramos pulled together a small group of worship leader friends who wrote songs for their churches. Each of us had something in common: we were writing songs for our church contexts and leading them on Sunday mornings right alongside mainstream worship songs and hymns.    Themes We found that there were themes that were rising up from pulpits and […]

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worship

Discover Meaning, Purpose and Mission In Work

Brad Schmidt
3 Sep 2019
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Barna Group recently released a study called “Christians at Work” that explores how Christians experience their work in relation to their understanding of the mission of God. What it revealed was that the majority of Christians cannot connect their everyday work to God’s work. Barna characterizes them as “compartmentalizers.” They think that what the pastor does and what happens on Sunday morning is important to God, and what happens Monday-Saturday is a means to an end. As a result, worship is something you do on Sunday and work is something you do on Monday. So…what’s the big deal? If we […]

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Be Strong. Work. Do Not Fear.

Edwin Copeland
12 Aug 2019
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The prophet Haggai came during a time when God’s people were on their way to becoming secular occupants of a destitute and forgotten land. They had experienced hostility from virtually every neighboring tribe. They were tired, worn out and had forgotten Whose they were and to Whom they belonged.  However, God sent Haggai to remind God’s people to get on with the work of rebuilding his temple. Through his words, Haggai reminded them that they were the right people, called to the right place to do the right work of building for the Lord. His words couldn’t have been clearer: […]

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work

The Sweet Satisfaction of Hard Work

Tommy Kiedis
17 Jul 2019
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“From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him” (Proverbs 12:14 ESV). Saturday night, just before sundown, Shannan and I arrived back to our place in Arkansas. For my part it was with a skip in my step, a sigh of relief and gratitude in my heart to God. We had just traveled 2956 miles across Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, and then trekked back to the Natural State, completing the entire jaunt in our 1936 Chevrolet (aka The Octogenarian). If you wonder […]

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Abiding Joy

Dr. Gary Hewins
16 Jul 2019
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In Christ, you have access to a priceless, almost-hidden treasure. You can pursue, possess and be possessed by a God-ordained joy. Some pursue a fleeting and certainly temporary happiness, but not you. You can be apprehended by a lasting, sustaining joy, emanating from the One who purchased it for you. In a friendship with Christ, He excitedly gives you access to His joy, laughter and contentment. You were created to enjoy Him no matter what. You can chuckle, belly laugh, or sit as still as you can in silence and enjoy His joy.   Regardless of circumstance  The feelings of […]

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Dawn and Dusk

Stephan Tchividjian
11 Jul 2019
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dawn

I was recently sitting with Lisa watching the sunset. I reflected on the experience of dusk, that in between time before darkness and after light. I noticed that everything was ideal. I thought about what life would be like if we lived in permanent dusk. I couldn’t help but also think about how dusk emulates dawn, again that in between time, but in that case the time after darkness and before light. What I thought was interesting about these two in between times was how little effort life required. The color was about perfect – enough light to recognize objects, […]

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The Secret to Balancing Family and Ministry

Rob Hoskins
3 Jul 2019
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My dad and I just got back from our annual “Mahi massacre” fishing trip. For many years we have set sail excited about quality father/son time, the thrill of the sport and some really good eats. But it’s also a chance for us to get out on the open waters. We can breathe deeply and think, talk, process and pray through life, ministry, and leadership issues with a handful of other key influencers — an “iron sharpening iron” experience. We anticipated some heavy questions and deep conversations, but the question of the day surprised us! Every guy on the boat […]

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family