Life

Healthy Indulgence

Dr. Jeff Hazim
2 May 2013
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What is your first impression when you think of health food? Do you think of all the good things you must give up? Or maybe you think of boring rabbit food. Certainly you’re not thinking of enjoying the things you’re used to. However, there are ways to stay healthy while at the same time enjoying some of your favorite indulgences. What does it mean to indulge? It means “to yield to, satisfy, or gratify desires or feelings.” Is this entering some forbidden territory for a Christian? Aren’t we supposed to crucify the desires of the flesh? It is a common […]

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The Benefits of a Roth IRA

Jeff Masters
7 Apr 2013
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A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that offers a valuable future benefit: tax-free income in retirement. Although there is no up-front tax deduction for Roth IRA contributions as there is with a traditional IRA, Roth distributions are tax-free in retirement… when you follow the rules. Imagine saving the maximum into a Roth IRA of $5500/year ($458/month) from age 25 to age 60, successfully saving $192,500. Now imagine that the account was invested and earned an average of 8 percent annually… that account would have grown to $1,023,563. Wow, that is $831,063 more than you invested, and it is […]

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The Gospel Unchains Hearts

Lori Harding
5 Apr 2013
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If we understand that the gospel frees us to love and to be spontaneous with our love, it begs the question; “What does the gospel in action look like?” What does a life set free by grace free us to do? In considering the implications of the gospel, we love the question; “What will you do now that you don’t have to do anything?” However, our relentless desire to perform creeps in and we ask; “Okay, now what? What must I be doing? What exactly does it look like to love this way?” A friend shared a recent experience she had with her […]

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The Upside-Down Religion

Zsofi Schindler
4 Apr 2013
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Imagine yourself walking home from work and suddenly having the idea to stop at the local confectionery. Do you see yourself choosing your favorite cupcake? The waitress places it on a plate for you while you pull your wallet out of your pocket. Only before you could ask about the price, the waitress says it is for free for the rest of your life. How do you react? Are you getting suspicious? What kind of thoughts cross your mind? “Free? There may be a hidden camera or something.” Now, using this same scenario, let us randomly zoom in on three […]

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I Will Give You Rest

Dr. Jeff Hazim
3 Apr 2013
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The kingdom of heaven is like… a mustard seed… a hidden treasure… a fishing net. “Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables” (Matthew 13:34). A modern day parable The human body is like an automobile. It takes fuel, electricity and intelligence for an automobile to drive. Gasoline is burned as fuel in order to propel the automobile. The battery and alternator provide electricity to start the car, and power all of its electrical components in order to operate. And it takes intelligence to […]

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Having “The Talk” with Your Kids

Cresonia Hsieh
2 Apr 2013
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“As long as it’s consensual, you can have sex with whomever you want of whatever gender you want or identity you want. And it might be before marriage and it might not. All of which is totally natural, and okay, and healthy,” proclaimed my high school’s award-winning newspaper. As I talked to other students about the article, I was dismayed to discover that all of the people I talked to responded positively to it – this is the perspective and change they hoped to see in American health education. They wanted more gay rights, little to no emphasis on abstinence […]

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Teaching Character

Lori Harding
16 Mar 2013
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When it comes to parenting, an extreme focus on character education and training in our culture has seeped into the church and into Christianity at large. Mesmerized by good behavior, we have equated positive character traits with godliness. We are in shock by the degradation and immorality we see around us, and we believe we can fix the tidal wave of a culture gone mad. We truly believe we can turn it around with educational programs that teach good character and a standard of morality. However, in focusing on the traits rather than the Giver of them, we have placed […]

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Fitness Trends

Madison Iszler
14 Mar 2013
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As America accelerates toward a world of media that is completely online, the presence of online fitness programs has steadily increased. A gym membership and expensive exercise machines aren’t necessary to work out, train for a marathon or lose weight. Stop hiding behind excuses like, “I don’t have enough money to pay for a gym membership!” and check out the do-it-yourself, in-house fitness programs below that will challenge you just as much – if not more – as the weights and machines at your local gym. All of the following workouts can be completed in the privacy of your home. […]

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Count It All Joy

Jeremy McKeen
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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 […]

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Sanctification Explained: Why Pursue Holiness?

Matt Manry
11 Mar 2013
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Why should we want to be sanctified? Is there really any point at all in striving to be holy? Does the gospel, on its own, make us better each day or do we have to take action steps and put sweat into it to become more like Christ? Just thinking about becoming more sanctified in our lives can just make our heads start to spin. Honestly the process just seems downright confusing. The idea of pursuing holiness is completely countercultural to the ways of this world. Today, even within Christianity, there seems to be a lot of different perspectives and […]

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