I’d like to make a case for two distinct types of forgiveness. When a person gets saved, God forgives all of his sin—past, present, and future. This is often referred to as “positional forgiveness.” Although some people may not like that term, I don’t think anyone even close to orthodoxy really disputes the idea. However, the Bible is clear that even after salvation, believers will continue to sin; therefore, they must continue to confess their sins, and God will be faithful to forgive them. We call this, “relational forgiveness.” Sadly, there are those who deny this doctrine.
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Church Center App!
Recently, we launched our new church app, Church Center! We are excited to use it as a tool to better helps us serve one another, stay informed about ministries of our church, as well as give to our church ministries.
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Disciplined by Faith: Part 2
Believe in the long-term value of spiritual maturity and power. Believe that there is nothing you need more than to know God deeply and to appreciate every facet of the salvation he has provided in Christ. Believe in the value of all Scripture. Believe in God’s process even when it feels dry and irrelevant or when it is complex and inconvenient. Believe that God knows exactly what you need and that he is doing more than you can see.
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Disciplined by Faith: Part 1
Most Christians know the feeling. You sit down to read the Bible and pray, wanting to enjoy a passionate experience of God, but,…crickets. You struggle to focus on the text, and what you grasp seems irrelevant to your pressing concerns. Your prayer time is dry, and your burdens don’t feel any lighter afterwards. You wonder, “What was the point? Did I just waste 30 minutes of my life?” You’ve probably walked away from a church service with the same feeling. Neither the songs nor the sermon seemed relevant to the issues weighing on your mind. You didn’t love the songs, and the sermon was dry. Again, you wonder, “Did I just waste 75 minutes of my life? How did any of that help me address my problems?” How should we respond these discouragements?
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Instincts for Spiritual Care
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.
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You're Not the Only One
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.
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A New Pulpit Bible
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.
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A Heritage from the Lord
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?
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Lovers of Truth in an Age of Nonsense
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.
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Seeing Souls with a Gospel Lens
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.
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What Did God Teach Me in Quarantine
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.
Keep ReadingAug 2
2017
Three Great Books on Prayer
In preparation for our recent study on prayer, I read several books on the subject. Here are my three favorites.
May 20
2017
A Hidden Enemy of Sound Judgment
During one of my first staff meetings at Inter-City, Pastor Doran challenged us that if we were truly going to help each other grow and lead the church well, we had to be able to debate ideas without taking things personally or letting emotion cloud our judgment. It was fairly simple advice, but in the years since I have thought back to his admonition many times as I have fought my own mental battles and watched others miserably fail similar ones.
May 15
2017
My Favorite Podcasts
Do you listen to podcasts? About one in five Americans do, according to a recent survey; and that number is increasing rapidly. I discovered podcasting last fall, when I set up a podcast for our church. Since then, listening to podcasts has become a regular part of my week. I like to listen while I get ready in the morning, drive, or work in the yard. I listen primarily for personal growth, not for entertainment (though there’s nothing wrong with listening for fun). Here’s what I currently subscribe to and why.
May 3
2017
On Singleness, Dating, and Marriage
This past Sunday, I briefly touched on the tricky subject of dating and marriage. It’s no secret that we live in a day with many conflicting ideas about these subjects. Secular culture has always been obsessed with romance; but sadly, I've heard a lot of Christians express bad ideas also. Several years ago, I came across an interview by 9Marks, and it really challenged my thinking on these issues. I think you would benefit from what the participants have to say.
Apr 25
2017
The Nuts and Bolts of a Godly Legacy
My sermon last Sunday was entitled, “How to Leave a Godly Legacy.” If you were not present you can listen to the sermon here. We looked at several characteristics of a life worth honoring from 1 Timothy 5:5
Apr 22
2017
Humility
Are you a humble person? What is humility and what is it not? Let's find out based on Philippians 2:3-4.