vision

vision

This is The Way – Devo Day 47

In the Middle of a Cultural Pivot 13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding…

We Are The Church

Justin Beiber was asked some questions about his faith and being a part of a church. “A lot of people who are religious, I think they get lost. They go to church just to go to church. I’m not trying to disrespect them…but for me, I focus more on praying and talking to Him. I don’t have to go to church.” Many people think and believe just like Justin Beiber (whether they admit it or not) when it comes to their view…

LIFE Redefined – Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most widely known passages of his teaching ministry yet they are probably the least obeyed. It is his clearest description of the nature of the Kingdom he came to inaugurate, yet it establishes a standard beyond our experience and even our ability. Jesus’ sermon is filled with contrasts between citizens of his Kingdom and those of the world, between his subjects and the outwardly religious. He quotes often from the Torah but says…

Discerning the Call of God – Introduction

What is God’s call on my life? Most Christians have wrestled with that question and some of us multiple times. Many get frustrated and simply give up thinking it is not possible to know the mind of God. A few turn it into a mystical quest and others think they can verbally strong-arm God making him reveal it by saying the “right things.” Part of our problem is that God doesn’t always communicate it to us in a way we want or expect it. How often…

Fight – Winning the Battles that Matter

Pastor and bestselling author Craig Groeschel explores the life of Samson, helping you uncover who you really are—a man created with a warrior’s heart in the image of God—and how to stand up and fight for what’s right. Find the strength to fight the battles you know you need to fight—the ones that determine the state of your heart, the quality of your marriage, and the spiritual health of your family. The battles that make you dependent on God as…

There’s No Place Like Home

Don’t you love it when you get a chance to sit down with a old friend you haven’t seen in forever and you are easily able to pick up your relationship right from where you left off? Getting caught up on the happenings of life is fun but what’s really fulfilling is the connection — knowing someone and them knowing you. It’s then you realize that time and distance doesn’t change that. Recently I was writing an email and asked the…

A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture

One of the books that we have referenced in the formation process of NineSevenZero Church is John Burke’s, No Perfect People Allowed. There he described a type of missional church that resonated with our hearts and our intentions – A Church Rising Up Out of the Culture. “This is…not a church for a post-Christian culture, where Christians huddle up behind the fortress walls and make forays outside into the messy culture, but a church molded out of a post-Christian people ~…

Where do we want to go?

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” -Lewis Carrol, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Oh but it does matter! The cat’s question has been ever present as this thought of a church plant has been unfolding in my heart and mind. I…
fork in the road

Road Trip Anyone?

I’ve come to another of those forks in the road of life. BUT (whining) it’s only been a few years since we left a secure position, dear friends, and church family to follow the road to seminary. We would have been happy to travel with those folks the rest of our days but someone beckoned us down a path less traveled, less familiar, and definitely less secure. Every life can be charted by a series of turning points where decisions…