Appropriate spiritual care varies from situation to situation. Some people need direct, strong confrontation while others need gentle compassion. We must evaluate people, and we must tailor ministry to the need of the moment. Otherwise, we may do more harm than good. All of us can improve our ministry by building good instincts for spiritual care. By this I mean we can become increasingly adept at reading people and situations and at responding appropriately to them....
When we endure trials and temptations, we often despair because we believe things like, “I’m the only one who has ever faced this,” “This is the worst thing ever,” or “My trial will never end.” Satan wants to isolate us in our hardship and overwhelm our perspective. If he succeeds, we spiral into despair, apathy, and bitterness. However, the Bible teaches that evil always resists God’s work. Therefore, our pain is not unique, and we are not alone, especially when we walk alongside fellow Christians....
Life Point is transitioning to using the NASB as our pulpit translation. Find out why we are making the transition and how it will affect our life as a church....
The birthrate in the United States is declining sharply, and a major force behind the decline is the shifting values of our culture. What does the Bible say about these shifting values, and how should Christians think about family as they plan their lives?...
I am increasingly concerned that Christians are following the culture’s lead as it spirals toward emotionalism and nonsense. However, Christianity is a religion of truth; therefore, no one should be more committed to truth, logic, and rational thinking than Christians....
One of the greatest ministry challenges we all face is how to effectively reach people who come from a very different world than our own. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 provides important counsel for overcoming these walls and also a timely challenge for how we view people in divisive times such as we are facing today....
I will never forget Wednesday, March 11, 2020. That Wednesday, our country began aggressively shutting down. The next 11 weeks were probably the most draining season of ministry I have ever experienced. By Wednesday, May 27, when we published our plans for restarting services, I felt as worn down as I have in a long time. The world is far from being “back to normal,” but now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I’d like to give thanks to the Lord for some important lessons/reminders that he taught me during quarantine....
The world right now wants to make you decide between justice and authority, but that is a false dichotomy. God says that both are important, and both are fulfilled in the person of Christ....
Last week I wrote a blog post entitled, “Human Authorities and the Present Moment.” My thesis was, “Obedience to God-ordained authorities ranks very high in the priorities of a biblical ethic; therefore, the threshold for disobeying authorities must also be high.” In this post I want to explore what type of things meet this threshold....
Psalm 91 is arguably one of the most beautiful chapters in all of the Bible. However, there is a strain of teaching in Psalm 91 that doesn’t seem to mesh with reality. The psalm says that “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High” (v. 1) will escape with his life from battle, though ten thousand fall beside him (v. 7). Not only will he not die from the plague, but the plague will not come near his house (v. 10)! He will be delivered from trouble (v. 15). He will live a long life (v. 16). No evil will befall him (v. 10)–he won’t even dash his foot against a stone because God’s angels are protecting him (v. 11-12)! How, I ask, can that be true?...
Appropriate spiritual care varies from situation to situation. Some people need direct, strong confrontation while others need gentle compassion. We must evaluate people, and we must tailor ministry to the need of the moment. Otherwise, we may do more harm than good. All of us can improve our ministry by building good instincts for spiritual care. By this I mean we can bec...
Keep Reading When we endure trials and temptations, we often despair because we believe things like, “I’m the only one who has ever faced this,” “This is the worst thing ever,” or “My trial will never end.” Satan wants to isolate us in our hardship and overwhelm our perspective. If he succeeds, we spiral into despair, apathy, and bitterness. However, the Bible teaches tha...
Keep Reading Life Point is transitioning to using the NASB as our pulpit translation. Find out why we are making the transition and how it will affect our life as a church....
Keep Reading The birthrate in the United States is declining sharply, and a major force behind the decline is the shifting values of our culture. What does the Bible say about these shifting values, and how should Christians think about family as they plan their lives?...
Keep Reading I am increasingly concerned that Christians are following the culture’s lead as it spirals toward emotionalism and nonsense. However, Christianity is a religion of truth; therefore, no one should be more committed to truth, logic, and rational thinking than Christians....
Keep Reading One of the greatest ministry challenges we all face is how to effectively reach people who come from a very different world than our own. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 provides important counsel for overcoming these walls and also a timely challenge for how we view people in divisive times such as we are facing today....
Keep Reading I will never forget Wednesday, March 11, 2020. That Wednesday, our country began aggressively shutting down. The next 11 weeks were probably the most draining season of ministry I have ever experienced. By Wednesday, May 27, when we published our plans for restarting services, I felt as worn down as I have in a long time. The world is far from being “back to normal,” b...
Keep Reading The world right now wants to make you decide between justice and authority, but that is a false dichotomy. God says that both are important, and both are fulfilled in the person of Christ....
Keep Reading Last week I wrote a blog post entitled, “Human Authorities and the Present Moment.” My thesis was, “Obedience to God-ordained authorities ranks very high in the priorities of a biblical ethic; therefore, the threshold for disobeying authorities must also be high.” In this post I want to explore what type of things meet this threshold....
Keep Reading Psalm 91 is arguably one of the most beautiful chapters in all of the Bible. However, there is a strain of teaching in Psalm 91 that doesn’t seem to mesh with reality. The psalm says that “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High” (v. 1) will escape with his life from battle, though ten thousand fall beside him (v. 7). Not only will he not die from the plag...
Keep Reading