[display_podcast] A Sinful History Studying history helps us remember the past so that we can understand the present. Living wisely and winsomely in the world requires some level of understanding where we’ve come from.  History stops being boring when we understand its purpose. Our country has a checkered history in many areas.  There are bright spots and there are dark spots.  There is much good in our history, and there is much that is bad.  The history of the United States of America, just like our own personal histories, [...]

[display_podcast] The Giving Tree In 1964, Shel Silverstein wrote a children’s book titled The Giving Tree that tells the story of a tree that befriends a little boy.  The boy would come play by the tree every day.  He would climb it, swing from its branches, eat its apples, play games with it, and take naps in its shade.  The boy loved the tree very much and this made the tree happy. But as time went by and the boy grew up, the tree saw the boy less and less [...]

[display_podcast] Aron Ralston Trapped On the brisk morning of April 26, 2003, Aron Ralston set out on a hike through Blue John Canyon in Canyonlands National Park in Utah.  Ralston was hiking alone and he hadn’t told anyone where he was going.  He was an experienced hiker and climber, but he wasn’t prepared for what he would face that day and the days following.  As he descended a part of the canyon, an 800 pound boulder came loose and crushed his right hand against the wall.  He was trapped [...]

[display_podcast] Friends Tell the Truth Telling someone the truth is one of the most loving things we can do.  The people who love us the most are willing to tell us the truth.  Genuine and deep friendships are built on truth-telling.  I’m not talking about truth spoken in a condemning way, in a “I’m better than you” kind of way, but truth spoken with love.  The people who’ve loved me the most have told me the truth about me.  We’re drawn to deep relationships with these kinds of people [...]

[display_podcast] Seeing More of God’s Power I said two weeks ago that part of what it means to be a Christian is wanting more of God.  Wanting to know him more, enjoy him more, and see him more.  There is always more of him to see and understand.  This is why Paul prays the way he does in Ephesians 1:16-18.  Paul is praying that God would give these Christians a bigger and better sight of God.  That God would “open the eyes of their hearts” (v. 18) and that [...]

[display_podcast] Wanting More is Sometimes Good Sometimes wanting more is a bad thing.  Gideon loves carbs.  He loves bread and noodles.  When we had chili last week, all he’d eat was cornbread.  He wanted more and more and more of it and wouldn’t eat the chili to save his life.  We wanted him to stop wanting cornbread and start wanting chili.  After a week of eating chili, I was ready to stop eating chili too! Sometimes wanting more is a really good thing.  You might want to exercise more [...]

[display_podcast] We All Love a Good Plan We all love a good plan.  Good plans give us peace and hope and purpose.  When we have something we’re aiming at we tend to shoot straighter.  Our fears and anxieties are eased when we have a good plan.  When you’re in debt and you seek the counsel of a financial coach in order to come up with a plan on how to pay it off, you gain a peace that you didn’t have before.  When you’re thinking about building or creating [...]

[display_podcast] As I mentioned last week, I want us to push pause on Ephesians for a week and consider the doctrine of divine election.  Our text last week forced us to consider the ultimate reason why we’re Christians and how we became Christians.  Ephesians 1:4-6, “(God) chose us in him before the foundation of the world…In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”  This text says plainly that a Christian is a [...]