More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message! Some of my very best, in fact I think I could say that many of my best mountain-top experiences have involved prayer. Prayer matters. In this episode and the next one or two, we are looking at a moment in Jesus' life called "The Transfiguration." Sounds like a sci-fi movie, right? It's a mountain-top experience that Jesus shared with Peter, James and Joh...

Send me a Text Message! In Mark 11, we hear Jesus say, (or maybe Jesus yell) "My house shall be called a House of Prayer." He could have also said, "My people will be called a people of prayer." Is worship important? Yes, but he didn't say my house will be a house of music. Is preaching and teaching important?  Yes, but he didn't say my house will be called a house of...

Send me a Text Message! Over the years, millions and millions of people have gone on a pilgrimage to Israel. A pilgrimage is just a journey to a sacred place.  Before Lynn and I were given the opportunity to go, (we actually have gone twice) I used to joke that I was more  interested in being a resident where God is, than in being a tourist where God used to be. But to drive through the hills of B...

Send me a Text Message! I kind of hope that you will be tempted to respond to the question that titles this episode with a quick and resounding no. Absolutely not. We cannot do anything greater than what Jesus did. And if that's how you responded, that will make John 14:10-12 even more fun. Because Jesus said otherwise. Now there are some restrictions that Jesus gave, believing in Him and pra...

Send me a Text Message! Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, that you are God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ to do the good works He's prepared in advance for you to do. God is all-in on you. You are what God does and no matter where you find yourself at this moment, I can tell you without a doubt in my heart, "God's not done doing what God does and you are what God does!

Send me a Text Message! In the last few episodes we’ve looked at Ephesians 6, which gives great detail for at least one reason why prayer matters. It matters in the battle between darkness and light, the spiritual battle. For this episode, we're going backwards in Ephesians to Ephesians 3, which contains my favorite prayer in the whole bible. It is my core prayer. If there is any prayer that...

Send me a Text Message! Really what Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:10-20 is "I don't want you to quit.  No matter what happens, don't quit. Never give up." Stand up against the darkness.  Not just in the moment, for a moment, do it for a lifetime. Really Paul is challenging us to finish well. It's never too late to finish well and it's never too early to start. Bobby C...

Send me a Text Message! The Bible is clear, God is looking for people to empower, people whom He can use. no matter what kind of battles you find yourself in, no matter what kind of slippery slopes you find yourself walking upon on your life-journey, nobody, no situation, no circumstances, no past, can ultimately keep you from living the destiny that God has planned for you. But that will only hap...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode we will look at Ephesians 6 and Luke 18. There is an insightful connection between Jesus' story of a desperate widow and Paul's challenge to prayer in our spiritual battle. This isn't just a teaching about prayer in general. It's spiritual battle prayer. Jesus is telling us, "This is a prayer you should pray. All the time. Don't...

Send me a Text Message! For the last while, every Monday, the episode I drop is my message from this last weekend. This weekend, we started a new series, on the book of Colossians entitled "More." The tagline is "There is more to life than I can see, and Jesus is more than enough."  I have to be honest, I'm really looking forward to this series. "More" has been a...

Send me a Text Message! Paul's challenge to Timothy about prayer is the same challenge, with different words, as his challenge to the church in Colossae. "Be devoted to prayer." Being devoted to prayer doesn't mean that prayer is the only thing that you ever do. Just like being devoted to a job, or a cause or a spouse doesn't mean that is the only thing you will ever do. B...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode we are going to look at one of my favorite visions from the book of Revelation. It's a vision of the bowls of heaven being filled with our prayers and then emptied out before God. It's a vision that shows us how much prayer matters to God, as it describes a silence in heaven, the hush of heaven as our prayer are heard. Prayer matters. Prayer matter...

Send me a Text Message! I'm just going to close the Overflow series with some generosity stories, a few of my favorites. I hope that they inspire you to put God to the generosity test. See if he will actually make all grace abound to you so that you can abound in every good work. I really do think that He is eager to help us become living proof of a loving God! Enjoy some generosity stories!

Send me a Text Message! This is a hard one. Matthew 18:23-35 is a hard story, but it contains a liberating truth that our hearts need to hear. Jesus says it's our choice. When someone offends, hurts, or betrays us, will we build a prison of bitterness or live in God's overflow of grace? It's our choice...

Send me a Text Message! This is the last message in our Life Refreshed, summer in the Psalms series. It was given for a weekend of celebration. But at it's heart it is an invitation to join the story of God, a God whose greatness goes beyond imagination and whose greatness is matched in abundance by His goodness. And how do we join the story of God? Well that's why you need to listen. :)

Send me a Text Message!  Here is a principle I've repeated more than once in this series. "God's uncontainable blessings come from God's unmistakable presence." But let me add to that with this truth. "His presence comes in community." Now I'm not saying that He's never with you when you are alone. But there is a certainty and power to His presence when...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode we are going to tell the generosity story of Mary. In the last few days of his life, she gave Jesus a gift that touched his heart. She had a love-burst. She had a moment of tender affection that gripped and expanded her heart so much that it seemed like it might burst. And she had a moment, an act of generosity that has not been forgotten for thousands of ye...

Send me a Text Message! In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story. It's a story about helping or ignoring Jesus in need. Now at first glance I'm a little unnerved by this story. I don't like the idea of ignoring Jesus in need.  I'm pretty sure that if I saw Jesus, (and I knew it was him) I would help. I would help Jesus-in-need. Don't want to miss him. But what if the point of th...

Send me a Text Message! Why do we long to be rich? And is there a better way? Those are the questions I'm tackling in this episode, still looking at Paul's words to his young friend, Timothy. But in the end, rather than going after more stuff, we need to trust a better Savior. We need to live entrusted rather than entitled and we have to grab life through generosity. Then we start steppi...

Send me a Text Message! We have entered a week of 24/7 prayer at Calvary. Actually if you want to join us, you can sign up at www.calvarycwow.org/resources -- just look for the "Sign Up Here" button. If you sign up I'll send you a prayer guide! But we start the one-hour prayer guide with gratitude. I wrote this, "We begin where revival always begins — not with our striving, but...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, I just want to share with you a great story of generosity that might begin to shape our understanding and even future experience of "the good life." 1 I Timothy 6 contains some good, hard words that have helped me dig into the reality of God's good life. I hope they will do the same for you!

Send me a Text Message! It may seem a little bit weird, but I get a little bit emotional on this episode. I think in part it goes back to the idea that generosity is not about what God needs/wants from us, but about what He wants to give to us.  And there are some stories of that kind of shaping that just grab my heart.  In 2 Corinthians 9, you will hear Paul say this, "God loves a cheerful g...

Send me a Text Message! You've heard me say it more than once during this series, and you will probably hear me say it a few more times  before we are done. "God has an unlimited capacity to give, but we have a limited capacity to receive." So if we want to live in his overflow we have to learn to let go, open up and give away what He gives us. We need to make space for His generosi...

Send me a Text Message! You may not be aware of this, but in the Old Testament, the one true name of God (sometimes pronounced Jehovah and spelled YHWH), the one true name of God was too holy for people to speak out loud.  But even though they would not say the one true name of God, they did call him by other names. They usually gave God a name when they had an intense, very real encounter with Go...

Send me a Text Message! One way evangelicals, love to describe our faith is that we say "We have a "personal relationship with God. Do you have a personal relationship with God?" Those four words slip off our tongues with ease; personal relationship with God.  It's not about religion, we proclaim, it's about relationship, a personal relationship with God.  Becoming a Chris...