All tagged gospel
In the face of much trouble, we must stand firm as a people who have been given the Way, Truth and Life that sets us free and grants us peace. It is getting more and more tempting for us to be swept into believing that the way to more freedom, more truth or a better life is a way that politics or culture try to prepare. This is not the truth we believe in, and it will not settle the fear or confusion we may have in our present circumstance.
In these days, the gospel matters. And it matters when churches listen for the gospel and choose to repent. Churches that declare the truth of the gospel to the world matter. Such work is the work of Christian leaders today. The challenge in our world is not that the world has gone crazy; the challenge in our world is whether leaders will truly embrace the powerful word of gospel news for themselves, for their congregations, and for the world.
When you are sick, you have an excuse. When you are not well, people tend to make exceptions for you. When you are hurt, you aren’t held to the same standards as you normally would be.
The starting place for every good and faithful interpretation of Scripture must be the conviction that God is good. And if there is anything about how I am reading a particular text that makes it sound like that isn’t true – well, then I can be certain that I do not understand that passage yet.
The arriving and present Jesus is the good news of God. That is why Paul will claim that it is the very power of God to save and deliver people (Rom 1:16). I will say more about good news as it is offered in Acts on another occasion. However, for the moment here, I want to make some clear and important claims about the good news that inform the life of the church and the practice of ministerial leadership.
Jesus not only explains in the parables of the kingdom the causes of this rejection, but also instills in his disciples hope and optimism. Not all the effort of preaching will be in vain! In the end, there will be a bountiful harvest, the weeds will be burned, the mustard seed will become a huge tree, and the yeast will make the flour grow.
The road to the fullest possible joy is a path of obedience containing opportunities to follow that are contrary to human nature and turns opposite of which people often imagine themselves taking.
We never really grow the Kingdom of God. God does that. However, burying the Kingdom not only hides it from others, but from ourselves. Consequently, we stunt our own spiritual formation out of fear of not growing the Kingdom, but when we boldly go into our world with the good news of a Kingdom built on love and grace with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, growth will take place.
Add this to the list of reasons preaching is such an impossible task. Can you tell the old, old story in a new way? Can you be both faithful and fresh? I think we must try.
When trouble comes—and it will come!—faith in the God who is at work in the world must be at the center of our attention.
Rest found in God transcends all areas of life. It brings restoration and renewal to our whole self, as God created us.
Seeing what compassion looks like on Jesus shows us what compassion looks like on God. But what does compassion look like on you and me?
As we prepare to enter into difficult seasons of life may we take the lesson from my son: Love is NEVER the wrong response.
As a coach/teacher/mentor/leader, Jesus simply did what most preachers/pastors do on Sunday mornings: he offered invitations. Invitations are great because they empower their recipients to respond while still sharing truth.
I may or may not agree with everything every congregation or college in Abilene is doing, but I sure hope they all talk to everyone they can about Jesus.
How is my own practice of Christian faith shaping my values, attitudes, and behaviors? Decline certainly calls for renewal. Yet renewal begins with me.
Tell how God’s work has been displayed in scripture, in your own life, and in the lives of others. These stories, even the old ones, are worth telling because of the eternal impact they can make.
For churches to flourish, the answer will lie in healthy congregational life and robust Christian formation.
Churches that live in the presence of the gospel are paying attention to spiritual vitality, passing and forming the Christian faith in people, and practicing hospitality to the world.
Perhaps we need to commit to be more faithful in sharing not only the good news of Jesus, but the good news about what God has done in our lives.
