Three words can make all the difference in the tone and spirit of our lives. Until we grapple with the truth and say these three simple words, our past will continue to haunt or present and future. One man in Scripture illustrates what can happen when we fail to make use of this simple phrase.
Scripture Text: Mark 6:14-28
I normally love Len Sweet’s writings. They are thought-provoking, fresh and challenging. “I am a Follower” is the first book of his that I was truly disappointed with. In fact, I couldn’t even finish it.
For months the book has traveled back and forth from the office, all around the rooms of my home, and I cannot bring myself to even pick it up again. This is, in part, because the book has brought up strong feelings for me.
Continue reading “Book Brief: “I am a Follower” by Leonard Sweet”
Hebrews 11 is often referred to as “The Hall of Fame of Faith.” We are taking some time to look at the individuals and other teachings about faith in this chapter of Scripture.
So far we have defined faith (v.1), and spoken of several individuals who lived by faith. Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother. Enoch walked with God and was taken into Heaven without having to die. Noah heard God’s warnings and built the Ark to save his family from the Flood. Abraham obeyed God, leaving his home when God said “Go,” he waited for the land that God promised him, and he trusted in God to do what he promised.
Then we run into verse 13 that tells us something that seems out of place about these people of faith.
I was invited to speak at another local church a little while back. There I spoke about one of my passions and a vital element of our spiritual lives: Worship.
Video Time: 30 minutes
Today is Victoria Day here in Canada. In the Maritime District of our church fellowship, it is the first day after Youth Convention. For three days we worshiped, prayed, jumped and played. Now we’re home. Now we decide what to do with what God did in us this weekend.
But this post is not about youth convention. It is not about the honest words shared by our speakers. It goes beyond the uplifting worship and the breakthroughs around the altar. During our final service, and throughout the four hour drive home, I knew that I had a different message to share.
If you are a pastor, parent, long-time church member, Sunday school teacher, greeter, parking attendant, or any other warm body in a church that sent youth to Convention this year, and you were not with them, this message is for you. (If you were there, you can probably identify with what I’m going to say.)
Continue reading “How Will You Respond To Post-Convention Youth?”
We all have friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances around town that we swap stories of life with. We tell them how the Holy Spirit touched us on Sunday morning, and they tell us how drunk they got on Friday night. Okay, maybe we don’t have those kinds of conversations, but we do find out bits and pieces of what is going on in each others lives.
In many of those times we are left without much to say. Either we have no voice in a person’s life, or we know how they feel about what we have to say. In our closer relationships, though, we have to know when to be the voice in that person’s life.
Chris MacKinnon 