In this passage from the book of Matthew, John the Baptist is struggling with who Jesus is. Why would John, this great religious figure, be dealing with such difficulty? We learn two things from his struggle: 1) you have to make sure you do not try t...
The theme of forgiveness is something that’s in so much of opera, theater, and literature—because it’s a very important issue in human living. So our theme comes in the form of a question: should we always forgive? Forgiveness is always easy when you...
Why is it that we celebrate Christmas with gift giving? We don’t do that at Easter. We don’t do that at Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. At anniversaries and birthdays, we give one person gifts, but at Christmas everybody gives everybody gifts. Wh...
We’ve been looking at Christian practices, or spiritual disciplines, by which our character changes. Now, instead of looking at one practice, we’ll look at how a number of practices come together to create one particular character quality: self-contr...
We’re in a series on Christian practices. We believe certain things, but those beliefs don’t necessarily change our lives unless we instill those beliefs into our hearts through Christian practices, through spiritual disciplines. Let’s look at a Chr...
In this series, we’ve been saying beliefs don’t automatically change your life. They have to be instilled into your heart through spiritual disciplines, through Christian practices. I’d like to talk now about a Christian practice you probably don’t t...
Many people believe God is real and God loves them. That belief ought to make you more secure, happier, and more humble. But beliefs don’t automatically turn into changed thoughts and feelings and behavior. Beliefs have to be turned into changed char...
We’re in a series on Christian practices. We’ve said beliefs have to be turned into changed character through Christian practices, through spiritual disciplines. We come now to forgiveness and reconciliation of relationships. In our culture, we tend...
We’re in a series on Christian practices. Beliefs don’t automatically produce a changed life. Beliefs have to be turned into changed character through Christian practices, through spiritual disciplines. We’re going to look now at a Christian practic...
The belief that God loves you ought to make an enormous difference. But in so many cases, it does not. Beliefs don’t automatically produce changed character. Beliefs must be turned into changed character through Christian practices, through spiritual...
We’re in a series on what we’re calling Christian practices or spiritual disciplines. You may have beliefs, but those beliefs don’t automatically produce a different character unless your beliefs are turned into actual changed character through spiri...
Christians have all of these great beliefs, yet the beliefs we have don’t automatically produce changed character. That’s the reason there are so many people who profess Christianity who are just as selfish as everybody else. Beliefs don’t just produ...
An awful lot of people who believe in God are as messed up and as selfish as everybody else. Why? Because beliefs don’t automatically create changed character. You have to turn beliefs into character with something in the middle. Between beliefs and...
We’re starting a new series on spiritual disciplines, or Christian practices, like gathering for corporate worship, private meditation and prayer, the disciplines of simplicity and generosity, reading the Bible in community, and spiritual friendship....
As we come to the end of the book of Jonah, we can ask ourselves the question, “What’s this story about?” Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? It’s not Jonah who is the protagonist. It’s not the fish who is the protagonist. It all comes do...
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