What Church Green Rooms Communicate
If a worship ministry detaches from the people it is called to lead, it is difficult to guide them anywhere. The most effective leadership is the kind that is connected to the congregation.
The Atrocity of Selfish Christianity
If you listen to the way many Christians talk today, we sound so different from the way Jesus expected us to live and serve others. Instead of making it about Him and others, we make it all about becoming as comfortable as possible.
6 Tips for Preschool Ministry
A preschool’s ministry in a church is more than glorified babysitting. Consider these tips as you intentionally invest in the youngest people in your church family.
The Danger of Discontentment
Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 – Without contentment, we will protect our possessions with unhealthy perspectives. The treasures of this life are gifts from God as long as they don’t replace Him.
Learn How to Love Your Wife
If husbands want to have a better marriage, then they need to do a better job of loving their wives. Do not wait around for your wife to make a change that you could start.
Beware the Traps of Sin
There are traps of sin that all of us can fall into because we are humans with desires of the flesh, but there are traps of sin that are very effective on you personally. If you want to follow Jesus in obedience, you must beware those traps.
5 Practical Values for a Church Staff
The staff sets the direction for a church’s ministry and also portrays the attitude that the rest of the church might imitate. To ensure it is a worthwhile replication, consider these five practical values for your church staff.
Furthering Families
Our families are consumed with pursuing achievements and losing each other in the process. Discover biblical principles necessary to further your family toward God’s ideal.
Ambitiously Rich and Relationally Poor
Ecclesiastes 4:4-5:7 – You can have all this world has to offer and no one to share it with due to how you align your priorities. Ensure your life has the margin to grow relationally with God and others.
Panama 2024 Recap
I joined a team of sixteen from our church to take the gospel to Panama. It was wondrous to see seasoned missionaries dig deeper and first-timers step outside their comfort zones with no desire to return to what is comfortable.
How to Know If You Love Money Too Much
Money is a gift from God, but if it is not kept in the right position, it will take the place of God in our lives. In our society that treasures the riches of this world in an unhealthy way, disciples of Jesus must refocus their values.
Waypoint (May 2024)
Rocky Creek, we have another edition of Waypoint to remind us that even if we’re not there yet, we are getting there. It’s been an exciting few months to start 2024.
Processing Politics
Knowing that power corrupts on an individual level, we understand that political positions can wield an endangering level of corruption. As we process politics, we must keep them subservient to God’s rule and reign over our lives.
Power Corrupts and Injustice Continues
Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3 – As long as people have authority over others, injustice will be rampant. Political and financial influences govern our society, and these structures reveal how people often take advantage of others.
The Culture Won’t Accept What the Church Doesn’t Know
Christians desire the culture to accept truths from a book that few of us read. Disciples of Jesus must decide to make biblical doctrines our priority before we ever expect anyone else to do the same.
Tell Your Kids Your Story
One of the greatest tools parents have to teach their children is the lessons learned along the way. Don’t miss opportunities to share your stories of success and failures to help them navigate their paths.
Counting the Cost of Discipleship
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than adherence to a set of beliefs or acceptance to a momentary call; following Christ in this world changes everything. To say “yes” to Him might mean saying “no” to other things that we love.
Don’t Drop the Missional Baton
Once the disciples saw that Jesus’ tomb was empty, they altered everything to share that news with others. They successfully got that news to us, but will we take the baton and pass it to others?
God Does Love You That Much
When Jesus prayed to our Heavenly Father, it was not the first time Scripture referred to God in such fathering terms. In God’s character, we discover the type of compassionate care we desperately need.
Don’t Waste Your College Experience
Many students waste their college experience on unhelpful pursuits. If you want to get the most out of this time, you must start by focusing on the essentials.
Treating Prayer Like Your Phone
Our phones give us constant access to anyone or anything at any time, and they often distract us from the people around us. We are so prone to checking our phones throughout the day, but what if we treated the opportunity of prayer like that?
Family Ministry Considerations
We organize our next-generation ministries under one umbrella because we do not want to silo individual efforts away from others. While some of our approaches vary due to the ages, the overall strategy is the same and unified.
Decreasing Debt
Dissatisfaction leads to unnecessary purchases and increasing debt. Discover God’s principles for decreasing debt and living in financial freedom.
No Amount of Stuff Will Ever Satisfy
Ecclesiastes 2:1-26 – We can experience pleasures, obtain possessions, and intensify pursuits, and still feel empty inside. Even if we have all this world tries to offer, we will not find satisfaction here.
Jesus Didn’t Build the Church on Our Opinions
You can be sincere in your beliefs about God and still be sincerely wrong. If your thoughts about God don’t match His revelation about Himself, then you are misguided.
What to Do with That Selfish Person in Your Life
We all know the cringeworthy moments that can happen when a selfish person lacks self-awareness and says and does things that cause others pain. It is difficult to know how to help them redirect their attention away from themselves, but we must try.
Sermon Series Considerations
A pastor must think through many factors when committing to a sermon series. Consider these six items before you select your next series or annual plan.
Jesus Didn’t Flinch
Jesus’ sacrifice would be amazing if He had gone through it while unprepared, but the amazing thing is that He knew about it and didn’t run from it. Jesus didn’t flinch when it came to securing our redemption.
Why Life Often Seems Pointless
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 – Even when King Solomon had everything, he felt it was all for nothing. No matter how personally successful you are, you will reach a place where you question the meaning of life’s pursuits.
Ecclesiastes
Solomon had everything this world had to offer and was still miserably discontent. We must learn God’s perspective if we are to free ourselves from the meaningless pursuits that are rampant in our society.
You Lack One Thing
Each of us has that one thing that really has us. It is difficult to follow Jesus closely if you delight in something more than Him.
How to Avoid Youthful Passions
At some point, we will all realize that we have never graduated from the childish way of thinking, that we ought to have what we want and ought to have it right now. This quest for immediate gratification is not from Christ and must be combatted in our lives.
Slow to Anger
Not many of us would describe ourselves as slow to anger because people and situations can unnerve us quickly. We should stand in grateful awe of the God who could lose His cool with us and doesn’t.
Ecclesiastes (Series Overview)
Solomon had everything this world had to offer and was still miserably discontent. We must learn God’s perspective if we are to free ourselves from the meaningless pursuits that are rampant in our society.
Re-Creation
The last book of the Bible prepares the Church for our final and eternal reality. The end is nearing, the victory is coming, and our Savior is returning.
The True Vine
John 15:1-8 – We cannot settle for a human intermediary to regulate our relationship with God. Jesus has invited us to know Him and to abide with HIm closely.
Your First Few Years of Marriage Don’t Have to Stink
If you are considering marriage, God did not leave you on your own to discover how to succeed. He has given you everything required to have a healthy relationship from the very beginning.
“You Be You” Is Horrible Advice
We live in a world that encourages you to be you; the phrase implies that you should just live however you want. In all honesty, I can’t think of a more dangerous set of instructions to incorporate as you try to succeed at what God has called you to do.
Just Go Ahead and Confess It Already
We often think that confession is a weakness, but it is actually a strength. God knows what you have been struggling with recently, so it’s best to share it with Him.
Church & Instructions
As Christianity spread throughout the world after Jesus’ ascension, the leaders attempted to keep the movement to Christ’s example and intention. The mission advanced quickly through the establishment of churches and the spreading of letters.