Posts with the category “message-series”

Elders are not a new concept in the local church. They have their roots in the Old Testament as early as the time Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 3:16). As the Apostle Paul established new churches, we know, “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:23). A church without the leadership of qualified elders is not in order (Titus 1:5). God’s design has always been to place loving and capable leaders (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9) among His people to shepherd and oversee His mission and their spiritual health.  Read More

By: Tim Grissom The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. —1 Peter 4:7–11Prayer became more precious to me when I started thinking of it as opportunities to have conversations with my Father. Prior to that, my praying was pretty much driven by either duty or desperation. I prayed because I knew I should or I prayed because I didn’...  Read More

Suffering is unpleasant. Suffering is also not monolithic; it has various types. Right now the most famous bike race is going on, the Tour de France. In 21 stages over 23 days, riders test their pain thresholds and what determines the overall champion is how well he can suffer compared to his competitors. This is a type of suffering that is aimed at a certain outcome. In the Christian life this would be more akin to the practice of spiritual disciplines, which in the moment may not be pleasant, but are producing within us the fruit of righteousness.  Read More

Eighteen years ago this month, I stood at the double back doors of my childhood church sanctuary. The pews were packed with dear family and friends. And I’m positive there were at least as many butterflies making a scene in my stomach. Everything was perfect. Only the flower-petal path lay between me and my soon-to-be-husband. I tried my best to take it all in as I took my dad’s arm, and the band began to play and sing: We’ve come to declare the beauty of the Lord, declare the beauty of the Lord.  Read More

The San Diego church was a flurry of activity, so I hadn’t quite heard what he said. “Do what?” I asked, wanting him to say it again. The pastor grew up in southern California and stood there blinking back at me. “Do…what,” he said the words back to himself trying to make sense of it. “It means repeat what you just said.” “I…don’t think it means that. Must be an Arkansas thing.”  Read More

I remember, as I was growing up, there was a consistent phrase that was repeated to me. Whenever I was going over to a friend's house, on a trip, or somewhere on my own, my dad would say to me, “Remember who you are and whose you are.” That phrase had multiple levels of meaning. On one level, it meant I needed to remember my family values and what my parents had instilled in me as good and honorable behavior. But on a deeper level, it was a reminder that I was first and foremost a child of God, empowered to live a life that reflected Him, and that I would be in His keeping as I did. It was a reminder that as I entered the world, how I lived and what I did would not be dictated by those around me, but by something much deeper and foundational.  Read More

“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” Do you remember this song from Sesame Street? A group of objects would appear on-screen, and we were asked to decipher which one was out of place. The answer was simple, but the ever-patient Bob McGrath would whistle through the jingle, giving our little eyes enough time to spot the difference. A red balloon stuck out in a group of blue balloons, or one shape did not match the others. Even as children staring at grainy 1980s television sets, we knew when something did not fit.  Read More

1 Peter is a letter addressed to believers who have been scattered throughout several Roman provinces in Asia Minor – what would be the general region of modern-day Turkey. They have suddenly been confronted with the reality that they are not at home anymore. They are displaced and scattered abroad, but still chosen by God to be His representatives in this world.  Read More

My husband and I became parents last year. Our daughter, Hope, is only 14 months old, but I already have a long list of ways I feel like we could’ve parented better–tweaking this sleep routine, displaying more self-control in that stressful moment…the list goes on. But as I was sharing this feeling with another young parent today, I remembered something about my own parents.  Read More

For his eleventh birthday, my son asked for a rock tumbler. It’s a little machine that transforms natural rocks into smooth gemstones. He’d already collected a few gems from various souvenir shops, but he wanted to be able to polish his own.   Read More

I would prefer not to set myself in opposition to the Person who is the very reason for my existence, salvation, and eternity. But I do it. All the time. The claim that pride is the “greatest of all sins” has always seemed like an exaggeration to me, even though Proverbs 3:34 indicates that God doesn’t treat it lightly. He opposes the proud? Why? Of course all sin separates us from God, but why does God’s reaction to pride seem so… extreme?  Read More

I loved fishing with my dad as a kid. We would catch a ton of catfish and crappie in that 14’ flat bottom boat. One time when we finished fishing, we motored to the dock so I could get out and back the trailer down the ramp to load the boat. I was about fourteen and my dad would teach me to drive when we went camping. I was in such a hurry to drive that day I stepped out of the boat and it began to drift away from the dock.  Read More

If someone tells you that cats are cleaner than dogs, don’t trust them. That’s a Cat Person. Growing up we had two and they shed everywhere. My whole life I walked around with hair stuck to my clothes and never knew it until I started dating Danielle (my wife) who is very, very allergic to them. Whenever I came around, she’d start sneezing. And I didn’t want her to think she was allergic to me. So, I began taking cat hair pretty seriously. Anytime I left the house, I looked in the mirror and used lint rollers to get all of it off me. They probably saved my marriage.  Read More

If you spoke to me after a Sunday service, or texted me to meet for coffee, or ran into me at the grocery store, you might be fooled into thinking that I’m quite far along in my journey of “taming the tongue.” It’s far easier to be “peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere” (James 3:17) when the conversation lasts only a few minutes, and requires little of my true nature to be shared. But look a little further, and my struggles to control my tongue become clear.  Read More

The men at her door were different than the others. She could tell right away. The word “Israel” conjured up stories she had heard for years about a rag tag group of slaves turned ocean parting army. Any city their God brought them to they conquered. And now, here they were in her hometown. Rahab trembled with fear. Fear, yes, but something else too. Something very much like hope.  Read More

Faith and favoritism are incompatible. Like oil and water, they do not mix – and believers should not attempt to combine them. Favoritism has no place in the Church or life of the believer. Unfortunately, favoritism, which is rooted in selfishness, has crept into the practices of the Church.  Read More

We’ve all known people who had an above average knowledge of Scripture that, sadly, didn’t appear to be much affected by it. They’re often critical, impatient, and boastful—all while being well-versed in what the Bible has to say about … being critical, impatient, and boastful.  Read More

Be honest. When we hear James say, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,” joy is not what immediately comes to mind amid trials and tests. No one is happy when the difficulties of life come, but there is also no escaping trials and sorrows. They are just a part of life. We live in a fallen creation, and we are a fallen people. At some point in our lives, hardships will come. Wrong will be done to us by someone. Wrongs will be done by us to others. Tragedies will come.  Read More

Imagine standing in the corner of the room as the scene plays out. We are here to listen, to observe and learn. Solomon enters; he kneels beside the bed of his father, David. Years have shrunk to hours. David’s final act will be that of both king and father: instruct Solomon on the main things of life and service.  Read More

It started in secret, but David’s sin that began behind closed doors was beginning to seep out from the cracks. Nothing could stop it. Not even the body of a dead man. The prophet came to him with a parable, one that would hit close to home for the shepherd boy turned king. But David wasn’t the hero of the story this time. He wasn’t the protector of the sheep.  Read More

Todd Henry wrote, “It’s possible to succeed your way into failure when you lose sight of the bigger picture” (emphasis added). Mr. Henry was making the point that in our work lives we can get so caught up in completing a project that we lose sight of the purpose behind our work. When we just move from one thing to the next, we eventually lose momentum, inspiration, and creativity. Life centers on getting things done.  Read More

Ever had those moments? When it seems there is no way out of a tough situation? Young David was being falsely accused and chased by King Saul in Psalm 57. As you know, Saul and his men came into the cave where David and his men were hiding and David was trapped. The cave behind him, the enemy in front of him. But David managed to escape by the grace of God. Psalm 57 is his prayer and confession after he was rescued.  Read More

There is a bench with an iron back and wooden slats. The arms curve downward like a ram’s horn. It sits at the edge of deep water that’s fed by a spring beneath the earth. The pool is aquamarine in the center, like a dallop of the Caribbean was scooped out and placed there. A constant breeze moves over the top of the water towards the bench at all times. It picks up the chill of the pool before it hits you so that the sun and the wind swirl in harmony. The grass beneath the bench is perfect. I don’t know a better word for it. Not pristine or fussy. Not itchy or unkempt. Perfect.  Read More

It was a rough day for Israel. Encamped along the battle lines opposing the Philistine army, they had listened to the taunts of a giant. They had listened and they were afraid - cowering in their self-deception that the very God whom their army represented was unable to rescue them.  Read More

Samuel filled his horn with oil and made his way to Bethlehem, with thoughts swirling in his head. It wasn’t long ago he had anointed Israel’s first king. Had it really gone wrong this quickly? At first, Saul fit the bill perfectly—head and shoulders above his peers, the son of a wealthy man, a poster boy for the Israelite army. But God did not let His people get far into a monarchy before He showed them how foolish their request had been. Like a mirror held up to the nation, Saul showed Israel how quickly their hearts could be led astray. Instead of fighting battles to protect his people, the warrior king began to fight to protect his own ego. So off Samuel went to find Jesse, a father of sons.  Read More

As Peter wrote to the early church about brotherly affection and love, I wonder if he was remembering words he had heard in an upper room. He sat at the Passover table the night before Jesus’s death and was mortified by his teacher’s opening move. Jesus set aside His robes and stooped to the floor to wash His disciples’ feet. How humiliating–the greatest becoming the least. Peter didn’t understand that the dining room had just become a classroom.  Read More

If I were to pray just one prayer for our church, it would be the words of this verse. In my opinion, it covers everything we need: hearts that are (1) convinced of the love of God, and (2) gripped by the steadfastness of Christ.  Read More

Eleven years ago, when we lived in Missouri, I decided to challenge myself in recognition of my 50th birthday. I signed up for a marathon. I had been running some - 5-milers mainly, but I was nowhere near ready for a 26-mile run. I downloaded a marathon training program and followed it diligently. I read articles about running marathons and spoke to several friends who had completed this feat so that I would know what to expect. I felt ready.  Read More

I’d known him my whole life. I knew he was the youngest of three brothers. I knew where he went to church and school and who his best friends were. I knew he played guitar and lifeguarded at the pool. That he liked road trips and buffalo wings and wasn’t afraid to stand up for what was good.  Read More

The word virtue brings me back to a heavy, tan book from my childhood. On road trips to visit my grandparents in the Texas panhandle, my mother would read us stories from The Book of Virtues. It was full of fairytales and fables organized by character traits like honesty and perseverance. My brother and I would also listen to Adventures in Odyssey cassette tapes—a staple of any good Baptist home in the nineties. Each episode of the children’s radio show ended with a Bible verse, encouraging children to make wise choices. That book and those cassettes helped us survive twelve hours in a minivan, while sneaking in lessons on a virtuous life.  Read More

My family wasn’t big on ceremony, but I remember two events that marked the entryway into the grown-up world for my brothers and me. The first, which came when we turned twelve (or so) years old, was the gift of steel-toed work boots. The second, which came when we got our driver’s license, was our very own set of keys to the family car—with the bonus of a later curfew.   Read More

One of the great scenes in the Bible, on the other side of Jesus’ resurrection, has to be what happened on the road to Emmaus. A couple of Jesus followers are on a walk. Like many people do when they’re trying to sort out all that’s happened, they start talking it out as they’re taking steps. Go to any walking trail in America and you’ll most likely find the same thing . . . people unpacking life while walking with a trusted friend. It's a beautiful thing, really.  Read More

Death is a somber cloud that hangs over Holy Week. I know Sunday is coming. I know that Christ will not stay in the ground. Yet I also know that every passing Easter finds me a year closer to my own grave. It reminds me of another tomb that must be occupied before it can be emptied.  Read More

Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in that tree. And he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down. For I’m going to your house today.” Sound familiar? Many of us baby boomers grew up singing that song in kids’ church. It is a song that tells a lot about a man and a Savior.  Read More

A religious person is not necessarily a born-again person—even when their religion is steeped in the gospel. I know because I was one, an “almost” Christian.  Read More

We have no idea what Christ has for us on the other side of self-denial. Much of what we see in the moment of decision appears to be loss, like God is intent on taking something away from us. He’s cutting into our enjoyment. Disrupting and interrupting all the good stuff we had planned.  Read More

There’s a lot of talk these days about gender equality. But that was not the case in the first-century world that Jesus was born into. Women were routinely treated as second-class citizens with diminished rights and respect.  Read More

In Luke 7, Jesus does something incredible. He goes out of His way to raise the only son of a widow from the dead. Here, we see His great compassion for us in the midst of our suffering, and we see His great authority (authority even over life and death!) on display.  Read More

Have you ever stopped to think what it would take to truly impress Jesus? I mean, He created everything that ever was! He existed before all things and holds everything together (Col. 1:17) so could there really be anything here on earth that would honestly impress or amaze Him?  Read More

We were walking out of Walmart when she approached us. Right away, we could tell she was quite different from us in every way. She asked for a ride home across town, but it was obvious she needed so much more than that.  Read More