How to Leverage Conflict
Conflict is inevitable. We are all passionate about things, and when our passions go unmet, it creates conflict. There is a way to manage and leverage conflict that honors God and honors our spouse.
The Wonder of God’s Name
God is wonder, and Christmas speaks to that unlike any other time of the year. Understanding His character helps us understand His wonder. Understanding His wonder helps us experience Him like never before.
The Prodigal Son
The story of the prodigal son is a popular parable in the Bible. While most people focus on the son, it’s pretty interesting to look at this from the perspective of the father. What an amazing display of love, grace and mercy. And guess what? Our Heavenly Father has all those qualities to the max.
Reconciliation
Moses gave a law that most of us learn as a kid. Jesus comes and says it’s not just about the action, instead it is mainly about the heart. Don’t murder, of course. But don’t even be angry, rather be reconciled. Jesus could say this because He is the greatest reconciler of all time.
The greatest sermon ever recorded was the sermon Jesus gave on a mountainside. The Sermon on the Mount starts and ends with the Gospel. Everything in-between is what it looks like to live a Gospel-infected life. Jesus gives us practical life lessons, not to prove we are Christ followers but because we are Christ followers.
Responding to God’s Love
Jesus loved us so much that he suffered the cross and ultimately defeated death on our behalf. How should we respond to that kind of love? Glory. Grace. Gall.
One truth that we can’t get over is this: the Creator of the universe loves us. Because of His love, we can be connected to Him in relationship. Because of His love, we can love others. Because of His love, we can have the boldness and power to live like Jesus. For God so loved… you!
Communication in Marriage
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Communication is key”? Well, that’s actually pretty accurate. Communication is something usually well intended and poorly executed. In order to have a marriage that honors God and our spouse, we must learn to have specific conversations with an open mind and a spirit of understanding. Add these specific conversations into your marriage, and watch what begins to happen.
Sadly, approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce. Why does this happen? While there are many different things we could point to, we believe marriages fail because husbands and wives just aren’t prepared. Throughout this series, we will look at some key components that will help prepare us for and strengthen marriage relationships. We will discover truths from Scripture that will help us foster God-honoring marriages.
The Local Church
The local church has been around for a long time. If you’ve ever attended one for a long time, you realize that there are usually certain traits that make it different than other churches. But if we go back to the earliest know church, we will see a model that should be duplicated! If the Biblical example is followed, we find a church that is healthy; we find a family we can be thankful for.
As we enter the Thanksgiving season, we will undoubtedly see social media posts about all the things people are thankful for. While there’s nothing wrong with that, wouldn’t it be great to dig deeper than most of the superficial things we see on those lists? Let’s learn to be thankful for who God says we are, who God says He is, and the fact that we get to do life in a local family of Believers – the church.
Giving God Our Yes
The best ability we can give God is our availability. Our “Yes” to Him doesn’t just impact us, it impacts others. Tune in to see how we can live a life of availability and truly make a difference in the world around us.
The book of Jonah is about more than some man getting swallowed up by a big fish. This book shows us what a sinner is, who the Savior is, and how we can engage in the mission of God. Jonah highlights the character and goodness of God, and invites us to take our next steps to become more like Jesus.
Spirit of Gentleness
Paul says to use your freedom for gentleness.
Galatians is an important letter we find in the New Testament. Written to Christians who were struggling to live in the freedom of God’s grace, the elements of this letter can help us learn what it means to truly have freedom through Christ.
Average vs. Elite
Following Jesus can be challenging. There are usually moments where we have to choose if we really want to be fully devoted. We have to keep focus and remember it is all for the sake of the Gospel.
Who is called out? What does that even mean? Does Jesus only call certain people? There are a ton of questions when it comes to following after Jesus, and in this series we will explore what it looks like, who it’s for and what it means for all of us.