PRAYER MOVES HISTORY
Rev. 6:1-7; 8:1-5 / The church prays. Heaven comes to Earth. Evil lashes back. Christians take the hit and persevere. In the end, we win with Christ. Will we stay in the stands or join the front lines?
REIGNING NOW
Rev. 5:4-10 / What does it mean that we are a ransomed people, a kingdom and priests of God, and that we will reign with Christ? What does that look like in the here and now?
PARENT HACKS – EPISODE 001
Here are some parenting hacks I've found helpful and in an effort to "raise all boats" I pass them on to you. They aren't for everyone, but they help me. I do better as a parent (emotionally and practically) when my life is organized and things are written down. Having a schedule or list relieves stress and keeps life going at a sustainable pace. I get that for others, schedules and lists only adds stress. So this is only for people, like me, that thrive in formal organization. Plan Spontaneity I've written about this before in my old blog spot, but it bears repeating and I'm still learning how to do this well. Be liberal when it comes to estimating the time a task takes. Schedule your life with margins. I used to have my life scheduled in [...]
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Rev. 4 / When one pulls back the curtain on the natural world and sees God in the heavenly realm they are forever changed. Some Christians are afraid to pull back the curtain for fear that there will be no god or a very weak god. John saw and heard God behind the curtain. What did he see and how does can it change our lives today?
WHEN JESUS ISN’T WELCOME
Rev. 3:14-22 / Christians with nice homes, nice clothes, and good health often see no real need for God. What does Jesus say, do and offer to these kinds of Christians?
PRETEND CHRISTIANITY
Revelation 3:1-6 / The church is Sardis thought some good stuff they did in their past would be good enough to get them into Heaven. Turns out, faith in Jesus’ good works looks like an actual committed relationship with Him as connected, led and powered by the Spirit of God.
LOOK & HOLD
Rev. 2:18-29 / Our feet follow our eyes. Our eyes look to go where it’s easiest on the feet. Yet when we follow Jesus, His path isn’t easy. The great lie of this life is that we can choose our own path and still end up where Jesus is going. Jesus reminds the church to look at Him and hold on to Him because He is the truth, the way and the life.
IF ALL THAT I AM AND HAVE IS FROM GOD THEN?
Churches always want "your" money because it's a practical component to the work of the church and a practical way to exercise the soul. It's Biblical and it's good. Churches also want your time, talents and faith. Why? Because what we do with our body, time, and money are all soul acts. It's why God cares about sex, schedules and "our" stuff. The use of quotes is to reinforce the myth that anything we have is truly ours. Even our bodies are His (He made us and then redeemed us). The notion that our stuff is ours is foolish at best and costly in reality. Everything we are and have is given to us by God - we are blessed to be a blessing - and we are blessed when we become a blessing (though that isn't our motivation, rather a result [...]
SUMMER CAMP SUCCESS
Over the last couple weeks our regional Foursquare Summer Camps took place for kids and youth at Stillwood Camp. Every year men and women from Foursquare churches in the Lower Mainland take a week or two off from work to race, cheer, listen, learn, worship, pray, lead and serve Jesus by serving the next generation. For many students God uses camp to make people. It used to be common in the Christianese language to say "God wrecked me" but I don't like the negative connotation - of course they mean it in a good way: God breaks people down so He can rebuild (similar to a doctor that needs to re-break a bone that didn't heal correctly). Camp is a common environment where God makes people - He forever changes the direction of their life because His word [...]
THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF TRUTH AND TOLERANCE
Rev. 2:12-17 / The church in Pergamum was brave with external attacks of the faith, but a coward in dealing with internal compromises. Jesus addresses and encourages the church to stand for the truth not only on the outside, but inside as well. Compromise and tolerance are not values of Jesus.
