Main Point and Overview:   There’s a big difference in being with someone to motivate and challenge him and attempting to do it from a distance. In some ways, our church building is a “protective cocoon” every Sunday as we gather with people who love us, believe in what we believe, and love the same Lord Jesus Christ. Then, we go out into the culture which is often filled with viewpoints that are ...  Read More

Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”How many times have you been hurt in church? How many times have people failed you in church? Next question might hurt a bit. How many times ha...  Read More

The title of today’s devotion is a phrase that has probably come out of our mouths at one point or another. Maybe you said it to a child, or to someone in the movie theater, library, hospital, in the classroom or even at a church gathering. As I think back to the full-nest days with four kids who were just five years apart, I recall saying things like; “use your inside voices”, “shhh”, or “quiet”....  Read More

If you have siblings like me, you know all too well the arguments they can get into. From stealing things (AKA Borrowing) to just plain silly disagreements. As a parent it's almost unavoidable. In the moment we think it's the end of the world and we wish to never speak or see of them again, (not really meaning it) and within hours we are best friends living our lives as if nothing happened. I wish...  Read More

The two things that they (whoever “they” may be) say should not be brought up are religion and politics. Certainly, social media has put that theory to the test and proven it to be true. Nothing like reading a war of electron words for entertainment. But truly, those are questions and conversations that do come up eventually, particularly when you start to take a dating relationship to the next le...  Read More

James 1:22-25 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what the...  Read More