Category Archives: Personal Growth

On Earth as It is in Heaven #1:
What Does That Actually Mean?

By | 4 Jan 2024
0 Comment
On earth as it is in heaven graphic

Committed Christ-followers and pew-warming pietists alike have been reciting the opening phrase in the title of this article for literally over 2,000 years. Anyone who has hung around any church or organization calling itself “Christian” for even a few minutes will recognize it as coming from the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. It is the second… Read More »

The 4 P’s of Following Jesus

By | 31 Oct 2023
0 Comment
following Jesus image

In my humble opinion, all Christ-followers should be exhibiting the four P’s in their lives. As His followers, every one of us has been called by our risen Lord to partner with Him in making disciples of the lost, thereby transforming the culture in which we live. If we are not effectively and powerfully impacting those within our… Read More »

Disappointments

By | 17 Aug 2023
0 Comment
disappointments road sign

Introduction Several years ago, our church’s guest speaker was a former pastoral staff member, a Calvinist-Baptist minister closely aligned with John MacArthur and John Piper doctrinally. His message centered on the illness, death, burial, and raising-from-the-dead of Lazarus in Bethany recorded in John 11. His sermon remarks opened with the statement “God will disappoint us” and then continued with… Read More »

Faith for Souls #3:
1800 Saved in 8 Days!

By | 1 Aug 2023
0 Comment
Jesus rescuing from the flames

When you want what God wants, for the same reason He wants it, all of Heaven is behind you. You cannot fail! Jerry O’Dell Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27 ‘1,800 Saved Within 8 Blocks in 8 Days!’ read the headline in the newsletter of… Read More »

Whooped By The Ugly Stick

By | 7 Aug 2022
0 Comment
gross-out image

Introduction What I’m about to describe is pretty gross, even disturbing. Frankly, I was so totally repulsed by it, I had to think long and hard about whether to write about it. But the Holy Spirit has been tugging at my heart concerning this experience to convey some crucial spiritual truths, so please bear with me! While our… Read More »

The Bad, The Dad, and The Ugly

By | 29 Apr 2022
0 Comment
prodigal son crying in pigpen with pigs

I want to share some thoughts with you on what we traditionally refer to as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” Actually, a far more accurate moniker would be the “Parable of the Two Sons.” You’ll see why I say this in a bit, so stay tuned! We find this story in Chapter 15 in Luke’s account of Jesus’… Read More »