Pentecost is much more than the beginning of the New Testament church. It’s a day of change that includes reversals, firsts, fulfilled prophecy and promises, identification, affirmation, and power. I’m one of those odd persons that loves change. Not all changes, mind you, but I love the challenge of moving forward, trying something new, doing … Continue reading "Pentecost – What the Day Fulfilled and Looks Forward To" Read the article
The ascension represents the completion of God’s work in Christ incarnate and the completion of Christ’s work in us. It’s easy to gloss over the Ascension as we move through the 50 days of Easter toward our celebration of Pentecost, but we should not do so. The Ascension represents a fulfillment of prophecy and explains … Continue reading "Jesus’ Ascension – An End, A Beginning, and An End" Read the article
The journey through Holy Week and beyond helps us with our unbelief. The disciples had been through a lot with Jesus; they’d seen multitudes fed, demons rebuked, people healed, and the dead brought back to life. There was still confusion in their minds about who Jesus really was, but some were starting to believe he … Continue reading "We Believe; Help Our Unbelief" Read the article
As we focus on the Love Avenue and our theme, Compelled by Love, there are three questions each one of us needs to address. There is a lot of enthusiasm in GCI as we focus on the Love Avenue and reaching out to our neighbors and friends, but there are also a lot of questions. … Continue reading "Three Questions We Must Answer" Read the article
For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Editor’s Note: For years I struggled with the word “lost” when referring to people who don’t know Jesus. It seemed such an ominous term – almost permanent, as if there was no hope for those who are “lost.” Yet the term is used … Continue reading "What it Means to be Lost" Read the article
Continuing our focus on Healthy Church, the 2022 theme for Equipper and our GCI media team is “Compelled by Love.” The church of Jesus Christ exists for the sake of other people. I spent most of my life with an “us and them” point of view. The main “us and them” concerned those who believed … Continue reading "For the Sake of Other People" Read the article
When the Son of God put on humanity and became the Son of Man, he was inviting us to participate in the relationship – the dance – that he shares as Father, Son and Spirit. Cheryl and I love to dance, in particular to waltz or slow dance. Good dancing is fluid – it is … Continue reading "Invitation to the Dance" Read the article
Advent, which means “coming” – or from the Latin “to come to” – not only illustrates the biblical teaching of trusting in God and waiting for a fulfillment of his promises, but it also offsets the commercial hype and focus of Christmas that is usually not focused on Jesus. I believe all of us would … Continue reading "Advent: The Dark and the Light, the Origin and the Destiny" Read the article
… young families, teenagers, more people, a building or better place to worship, someone under the age of ___ in our church, a seasoned pastor. What do you believe you need to make your congregation or fellowship group successful? I love to look at a Scripture with new eyes – asking God to help me … Continue reading "If Only We Had…" Read the article
There is a reason Jesus referred to himself as “son of man”. Quite a number of years ago, I was asked by my district pastoral leader (DPL) to move to Cincinnati, Ohio, to pastor a church. I said “no” because I had just moved my family to pastor another congregation. Over the course of several … Continue reading "Over-spiritualizing Church" Read the article
