Resources to help you understand Scripture, grow in faithful habits, and discover more favorite passages.
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Homosexuality & Holiness
Our culture pressures us to celebrate homosexuality as acceptable, but Scripture reveals it as a distortion of God’s design. The gospel calls us not only to resist sin but to pursue holiness through the transforming power of Christ.
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Plead on Behalf of Others
Esther 8:1-17 – Esther’s position insulated her from the opposition to God’s people, but she couldn’t sit idly or stay silent. We ought to plead on behalf of others when they cannot protect themselves.
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Forgiven to Forgive
Jesus tells a story (Matthew 18:21-35) that exposes both the shocking grace of God and the tragic irony of an unforgiving heart. If we truly grasp the weight of our forgiven debt, we will be compelled to extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
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How Phones Shape Our Souls
Your phone is shaping you. Every buzz, swipe, and scroll forms habits, cravings, and even your identity. Technology promises godlike power, but it always falls short. Discipleship involves refusing to be shaped by our screens and instead renewing our minds by God’s Word.
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Confronting the Right Way
Confrontation is never easy, but avoiding it only makes matters worse. Jesus gave us a better way—start private, bring a partner if needed, and involve a group if necessary—rather than passing gossip or posting online.
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Sexuality & Sanctification
Our culture equates sexuality with identity, but Scripture teaches that sexuality is meant to be lived under God’s authority for His glory. Holiness in this area is not about restriction but about freedom in Christ.
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Digging a Hole for Yourself
Esther 7:1-10 – Haman’s rage consumed him, and his plot backfired in dramatic fashion. Unchecked anger not only harms others, but it also destroys us.
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Phone Rhythms for Families
Phones promise connection, but often they steal presence. Our kids don’t just need us to give them boundaries—they need us to model them. By creating phone-free zones in daily life, you give your family the gift of attention in an always-on world.
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Discipleship 101
Being a disciple isn’t about checking boxes—it’s about following Jesus closely and helping others do the same. Discipleship is simpler than we make it; it just takes commitment.
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Old Paths & New Steps
Jeremiah 6:16 – The prophet warned his people to change their attitudes and actions before God would have to discipline them. We don’t require new instructions; we need the resolve to live out the old ones.
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2025 Sermon Planning Resource
Preparing to preach one sermon is daunting, and planning to preach a year’s worth can feel overwhelming. That’s why I created a simple resource to help you as you pray and plan for 2025.
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Jesus Came to Thwart the Enemy
Humanity has an enemy who seeks to keep us from God. Jesus came to earth to push back such dangerous opposition and offer us the freedom we need.
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Should We Get Married?
If you are planning on getting married, it is vital that you consider your general and specific reasons. Why do you want to get married in the first place?
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We Need Roof-Cutting Friendships
When we are weak, we may not be able to get the help we need. That’s why we need the type of relationships that carry us when we can’t go any further.
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Barbershop Gospel
God used a simple barbershop encounter in Panama to inspire boldness across multiple generations. Watch as this team reflects on their experiences during a week-long mission trip to Panama, serving the Ngäbe people.
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Christ Can’t Be Part of Your Life
Christian college students cannot afford to isolate Jesus into certain components of their lives. If Jesus is Lord, you cannot tell Him to sit out in particular areas.
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There’s Always a Reason to Sing
Music is God’s gift for us to express our deepest convictions and emotions in a fitting way. No matter what is going on in your life, there’s always a reason (and a need) to sing.
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I Want to Hold Your Hand
We serve a God who does not leave us on our own but walks beside us through all the challenges of life. No matter what we face, we can endure because we do not struggle alone.
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Churches Can’t Overcompensate for All Parental Problems
We often blame the church for younger generations disconnecting, but what if it has more to do with the home? We should not be surprised if children physically check out if they were raised by parents who spiritually did years before.
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How Will Jesus Return?
If you believe Jesus died, rose, and ascended like the Bible predicted, have you paid attention to what it says about His return? Jesus is coming back, and you will know it when He does.
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Jesus’ Prayer for His Church
When Jesus spoke of His Church, He spoke of a people and not a building (Matt. 16:18). We are not called to come to church but to be the Church. In John 17, we get insight into how Jesus prayed for the universal Church and how that applies to each expression of a local church.…
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How to Study the Gospel of Mark
The Bible provides an incredible depiction of Jesus through four unique Gospels. The Gospel of Mark emphasizes the need to follow Jesus immediately. In order to study this book, let’s address the differences between the four Gospels and the unique nature of Mark’s Gospel.
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Multiply Churches
The Multiply Initiative is our simple yet aggressive plan to multiply disciples. As we make disciples within our own church, our prayer is that we will see growth in our church and in the churches we plant or replant.
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Multiply Yourself
The Multiply Initiative is our simple yet aggressive plan to multiply disciples. While we can multiply programs, events, services, and churches, the heart of strategy plan is when disciples begin to multiply themselves. If a new Christian simply replicated your life, would you be pleased with his or her maturity? PD 14 – Multiply Yourself…
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Multiply Disciples
The Multiply Initiative is our simple yet aggressive plan to multiply disciples. Our church is an established church with almost two centuries of discipleship work. As we go forward during this time, we wanted to simplify our strategy as a church and clarify our expectations for our covenant members. The Great Commission Go therefore and…
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Silence, Solitude, and Sabbath
In our fast-paced society and our continuously-loud distractions, our eyes, ears, bodies, minds, hearts, and souls need margin. The disciplines of silence, solitude, and Sabbath are meant to provide renewal for the disciple.
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Fasting and Discipleship
Fasting is an important and yet overlooked spiritual discipline. While most disciplines encourage people to do something, fasting encourages people to do without something. Fasting is the voluntary denial of physical food for spiritual purposes.
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Prayer and Discipleship
A personal prayer habit is vitally important in the life of a disciple maker. Not only does it remind us of our dependence upon God for sanctification, but we must also model healthy prayer disciplines in our discipleship of others. We learn how to pray by praying.
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Scripture Memory and Discipleship
While reading Scripture is vitally important, oftentimes, we forget what we have read as soon as we have closed our Bibles. The lost of art of meditating and memorizing Scripture is a key discipline in the life of the disciple. We must discipline our minds to have the words of the Bible accessible even when…
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Bible Study and Discipleship
A key component in personal discipleship is the practice of spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are not meant to make you more liked by Jesus but more like Jesus. We discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). No discipline is more important than regular Bible study because it encourages every other spiritual discipline.
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Protecting Your Devotions
If you’ve been following Jesus for a while, someone has encouraged you to do a quiet time. Most likely, some of them made the unthinkable suggestion that the mornings are actually better, but you find yourself groggy and distracted as soon as you wake.
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Silencing Your Phone
Your phone is an incredible gift. It has more capabilities than the most expensive computers of the recent past. The opportunities to experience and produce are like never before, but if you don’t control it, it will be controlling you. Learn to establish limits.
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Scheduling Your Week
We all say that we are busy, but are we really busy with the most important stuff? If you don’t schedule your week, someone will do it for you. To honor God with the time he has given us, we must start scheduling our priorities. Let’s make the days count.
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Stilling Your Soul
I go to bed looking for recent updates. I wake up groggy wondering what I’ve missed on my phone the last few hours. I go throughout my day tethered to a device that constantly interrupts my concentration on what matters most. If you’re like me, it’s time to go the second mile in stilling your…
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Renewing Your Mind
To be a growing Christian in this culture is challenged on numerous fronts. One of the most significant conflicts we experience is how to be in the culture but not of the culture. To win the battles, we must change the way we think and act. It’s time to go the second mile in renewing…
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Silencing Speech
We all have those words that we regret. That conversation we wish we could take back. But once our speech has left the dock, there is no return for them. While we can’t change the past, we can prepare for the future.
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Quieting Quarrels
Have you ever had that disagreement that lasted way longer than it should have? Probably most of your conflicts are that way in reality. Instead of letting something get out of hand, we must figure out how to reconcile peacefully.
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Delightful Disposition
We are all wired differently when it comes to emotions. We all interpret situations uniquely and respond differently when challenges arise. Do you receive the stress of this life with joy or anxiety?
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Surmounting Sensuality
Even if you don’t go looking for sensual content, it’s looking for you. And in every sphere of life, we are exposed to material intended to entice us to voyeurism and addiction. Apathy will not secure victory.
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Exchanging Envy
We live in a culture of comparison. Everywhere we turn, we are reminded of people who have more chiseled bodies, more attractive features, luxurious homes, expensive vehicles, and exquisite toys. Jealousy can ruin us.
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Beware the Temptation that Accompanies Affliction
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 – With great affliction comes numerous opportunities to give in to temptation. As believers, we must be careful not to surrender to the flesh when we become overwhelmed.
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Spiritual Warfare and Kingdom Advancement
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 – When we engage in ministry, we encounter opposition potentially originating from Satan and his forces. We must open our eyes to the conflict hindering us from knowing how to push forward.
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What God Has Joined Together (Marriage Conference)
No marriage deteriorates overnight, but it can suffer due to a gradual drift. If you don’t address your marriage separators, you are unfortunately inviting the gap to widen.
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Scriptural Standard
1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 – In every culture, people’s opinions are rampant and varied, but we need the consistent, reliable source of truth found in the Word of God. Scripture is our sole standard as we seek to live for Jesus.
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Be Watchful
If anyone should have had the advantage to repeat successes and to reject failures, it was King Rehoboam, son of Solomon and grandson of David. But instead of learning from those before him, he actually did worse than them because he fell into five common traps that many men fall in as well.
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Everyone Discipling Someone
1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 – If we genuinely care for others, we will prioritize their spiritual development. It is hard to fathom the impact we could see if everyone took the responsibility to disciple at least one other person.
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The Only Approval Required
When we live our lives for Jesus, He is the only affirmation we need to receive. If we can maintain the perspective that we live for an audience of one, we can seek to please Him in every aspect of our lives.
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The Church That Won’t Stay Inside
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 – If God is doing work inside a church, those who are outside should truly feel the effects of it. As we wait for the return of Christ, we should be the type of disciples unwilling to keep Kingdom activity within the walls of a church building.
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Thanking God for This Church
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 – Paul planted a church in Thessalonica, and, years later, he wrote them to express his genuine gratitude and persistent prayer for the congregation. As we look around our church family, we can also stand in awe of what Christ has done and anticipate what He will do.
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Know That You Know That You Know
1 John 5:13-21 – There is no greater assurance to seek than that of your salvation. Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life and your present life receives the purpose needed.