Christmas is complicated. It’s busy. And especially if you’ve had an unexpected experience this past year that brought pain in your life, it can be really difficult to understand how it’s even possible to experience joy this time of year. This past Sunday, we kicked off our Christmas teaching series at First Christian Church. We…
Last Sunday at First Christian Church, I spoke about temptation and how Satan works to bring destruction in our lives. The message was based on Matthew 3:16-4:11. Here’s the video, as well as a few highlights and key thoughts from the message:
I’ll bet that if you and I were to sit down over coffee and I asked you if anything is worrying you or stressing you out, you’d be able to rattle off a handful of things without even thinking about it. I could too. There are a few things I’ve lost more than a little sleep…
I spoke at First Christian Church this past Sunday about God’s love that has overcome everything to draw us close. Here’s the video. By the way, this whole series was incredible. If you’d like to watch video from the other messages, you can find them here.
Maybe I’m not supposed to say this because I’m a pastor, but I’ve never questioned my faith more than I have in the past 18 months. I’ve never doubted God. Not His existence, not His love, not His presence. But I have done a lot of asking, searching, and chasing after answers to some tough questions…
Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking at First Christian Church. It was the third installment in a series called “Pursued,” all about realizing that God doesn’t give up on us, and He doesn’t chase us to punish us, but He pursues us because He loves us. A few of my favorite quotes/thoughts: “Sin…
I just got off the phone with a guy who got some devastating news today. He just found out that his dad has inoperable brain cancer and probably only has 4-6 weeks to live. As soon as I picked up the phone, I knew something was wrong. I don’t know this guy well at all. We’ve only…
I started to write this post with some really wordy paragraphs about church growth and ministry strategy but it sounded lame so I deleted it. Instead, let me admit to you what one of my biggest struggles has been. I struggle with a constant feeling of insufficiency. Why? Because I’m a doer. Because I’m in a…
I was watching Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week because I like his name, and he played this game where he had a guy out on the street and they brought random people on camera and Kimmel had to guess if they were American or if they were a “foreigner.” He tried to do this…
A few years ago I read through the entire book of Psalms. I hit Psalm 13 and it hit back. I was in the middle of a very hard time, and I was pretty stressed. I was quickly reaching my limits and I knew it. Then I read the first verse of Psalm 13. “Oh…
