Last month, my congregation (Abiding Grace) celebrated our 10th anniversary. And there is plenty to celebrate. In 10 years, we've grown in people, in facilities, in opportunities to serve our community and spread the word around the world - in so many different ways. Things are rocking at Abiding Grace. So, looking at that, we must be doing something right, right?
We spend billions of dollars as a nation every year on physical health and fitness.
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. "Dear woman, why are you crying?" the angels asked her. "Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "And I don't know where they have put him." She turned to leave ...
I'll admit it. I am a big college basketball fan, which means I'm loving life right here in the middle of March Madness.
At that hour, Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day, I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Today is Good Friday. The name seems like a misnomer when you consider that it marks the day of an execution - three in fact.
Oh, my aching tongue! You may never say that unless you bite your tongue. And while biting your tongue is painful and most of us avoid doing it as often as possible, it may be a something we should practice on a much more regular schedule.
I look at the calendar and realize tomorrow is already Easter4Kids. Let me explain. That's an event Abiding Grace has been putting on for years now, a free event for all the 3 to 10 year olds in our community. It's a day to celebrate the real meaning of Easter. (You still have time to register your children at e4k.abidinggrace.com, but I digress). But here's the thing. It always takes place the day before Holy Week starts.
As the time approached when Jesus was to be taken up into heaven, he determined to go to Jerusalem.
The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. Or so the song goes. We sing it often, and its theme is reflected in many places throughout the New Testament. So why must we be reminded of church unity so frequently? Are we such disparate people, so inclined to fragmentation, that unity goes against our very nature? Would the Church universal spin off into a thousand shards without our constant efforts to ...
In the Old Testament book of Haggai there is an interesting account of extremely troubled economic times. Some of the children of Israel had returned home after 70 years in captivity. They were trying to re-establish themselves in their homeland, but everything they touched seemed to turn to dust. They couldn't understand why.
Life is often a series of routines that keeps us going. We have our morning routines for getting ready to meet the day. We have our weekly and monthly routines to get work done and meet family obligations. Good habits are good for us. Routine is good.
If you've been in church recently and made it until the end of the service, chances are you've heard the words of the section of Scripture we're looking at today - Numbers 6:22-27. I know - there are a ton of differences in worship styles between all sorts of different kinds of churches, but this is one place where there isn't all that much difference.
She was a lucky lady. Of all the funerals going on that day, it was her son's that Jesus happened to meet on the road. Talk about good fortune. But her good fortune had started even before Jesus showed up. This story is recorded in Luke 7:11-17. The widow was getting ready to bury her son when Jesus happened upon the funeral procession and raised the young man. She's the one I'm calling lucky. You ...
At Gateway we have been in a series on Sunday nights entitled "Foundations in Apologetics" and produced by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Apologetics does not mean we are apologize for what we believe, but rather that we are defending what we believe. The Bible says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you ...
"My faith looks up to thee." That's a classic line from a great hymn, and it's a great sentiment. Too bad, all too often it's a lie. As much as we might say it and pretend like it is true - all too often, our sinful pride gets our faith to look in to me instead of up to thee.
John Oxendine and Roy Barnes have been consistent leaders in their respective primaries in the race for governor. With the July 20 primary only six weeks away, can they keep their leads and secure the nominations? Barnes is the easy call right now in the Democratic primary. The former governor has maintained a strong lead in all the early polls, even if not so far ahead that he might win it on July 20. He ...
OK, class. Our word this week is Kakistocracy. It is from the Greek word "kakistos," meaning "worst" and "kratia," another Greek word meaning "power, rule, government." Put them all together and you have "a government under the control of a nation's worst or least-qualified citizens."
The World Cup is coming. It's possible you might not have noticed it here yet. The first games are still a week away and the US National Team doesn't play until next Saturday, but in some parts of the world... Wow! It is already consuming headlines. It's such a media buzz that, in those places, if you weren't aware of it, you were probably in a coma.
Let me ask you, do you have a time each day that you spend with God?
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus said that. He said it on a day we call Maundy Thursday. He said that the day he handed himself over to the Jewish and Roman authorities. He said that the day before he died on that cross… for us. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." We'd have to ...
My little boy is getting married. That, in and of itself, ought not to startle me. After all, he's 25 years old. By the time I was that age Louise and I had celebrated our fourth anniversary. But it gets me, I suppose, since Davis is the last of three babies God allowed us to raise here in this special place they'll always remember as "home."
I try hard not to live with regrets. It's not that I don't have plenty of poor decisions I could relive. It's just not a productive way to live one's life. I do have regret today about a choice I made Tuesday. Even if this does not make it to press, in writing it I am freeing my mind to focus on the future. My hope is that you as the reader will do the ...
In my last article I broached the subject of life after death. I mentioned that everyone was going to spend eternity somewhere. That was a problem for some people. Let me explain. Most people believe in heaven. Few people believe in hell. Many Christians don't even believe in hell. I have two questions for them. Why is it you choose to believe in heaven but not hell? The same Bible that teaches that there is an ...