Christian Health: Share the gift of food safety
Share the gift of food safety this Christmas season. Practicing food safety throughout the holidays and year round can prevent foodborne illness, also called food poisoning. A wonderful part of Christmas celebrations is enjoying time with family and friends. Traditional favorite foods are often a part of celebrations. We pray to God and thank Him for our food and ask Him to bless it. We want to be sure that we take precautions to...
Strengthen: Encourage church-wide Bible reading
As another year draws to a close, our thoughts naturally trend toward the celebration of the gift of God’s Son at Christmas. It’s a special time of the year that I pray will be blessed in your family and church. It is also a time of the year when we start to consider the New Year and what it has in store. In the life of the church, that often means new committees and budgets with new emphasis and initiatives. I want to challenge you...
Bible Q&A: Spilled blood & falling towers
I can’t think of any saying of Jesus that seems more relevant than His words in Luke 13:1-9, a somewhat forgotten parable about tragedy and its connection to sin. On His way to Jerusalem, it was reported to Jesus that some Jews from Galilee were murdered at the temple in Jerusalem while trying to worship. The image of the spilled blood of worshippers seems so today’s newspaper. We remember the nine murdered during a prayer service at...
Shine: Destination wedding
Lately I have notice a growing trend toward destination weddings. According to a May 2018 survey from CompareCards.com by LendingTree, a destination wedding guest spends $1,421 on average, including travel, gifts and spending on personal items. That number jumps to $2,514 for destination weddings outside of the U.S., with the actual travel costs estimated at $1,595 for an average of about five days. This seems rather expensive,...
Multiply: A better way to win the culture war
It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. But that’s not a problem for the missional church. Christianity was born into a society that was crueler, more heartless and more decadent than our minds may imagine. Paganism ruled the day. The sick, the weak and the helpless were fodder for the cruel and powerful. Abortion, infanticide and child sacrifice were very common in the ancient world. In fact, children born with any...
Practical steps to having a welcoming church
Have you ever considered how much preparation and planning goes into getting ready for a typical Sunday when we gather for worship and Bible study? We do it every week—plan and rehearse music, sermon preparation, Bible studies planned, volunteers contacted and more! We love to get together as the “family” of God, but we are ever aware that it is our joy and privilege to welcome guests who are new to the community or might even be...
