Sound Mind Set

From a teenage boy in the fields alone with the sheep to a king in the palace, David’s life knew trouble … trouble he made for himself, trouble from others, and a lot of trouble with his kids. Despite his issues, David constantly showed us how to turn to the Lord with anything and everything. Listen to Psalm 18:1-6 … I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my s...

When we face tough times, when we don’t know what to do as a parent, when disappointment and heartache comes, we have to remember Jesus came and experienced all these same hurts and emotions and so He understands how we feel. Listen to Hebrews 4:14-16 … So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest o...

Parenting is a long-haul job. A job we don’t get days off from and we cannot quit. We all need constant emotional, mental, and spiritual fuel to keep on keeping on in raising our kids. Listen to Romans 5:2-5 … Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, t...

Galatians 5:22 and 23 offers us a list of qualities and characteristics that God will give us. Then, as parents, can become a blessing to our children. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (NLT) Picture a fruit tree … whatever fruit is your favorite … when that tree begins to show t...

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay do...

One of the most telling and incredible passages in the New Testament is where Jesus talks about the difference in those who follow Him and those who don’t, and how you can tell them apart here on earth. What is also fascinating here is the things He cares about the most in what we do with our lives. “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his...

Billy Graham once said, “The true test of who we really are is found inside our own families.” And let’s be honest, we see the very best of one another and then the very worst. Watching video from our homes, someone might accuse any of us of being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right? But God knows that … it’s called flesh and spirit. The apostle Paul was a brilliant and articulate man. But a man with a...

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We hav...

Timothy 3:14-17 … But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures …, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what...

Today we close out our theme of love for this month, as well as this week as we have been talking about intimacy. We’ve looked at a level of closeness that God can provide that should affect every relationship we have in life—from our families to the groups of people we associate with. God allowing us to be His temple changes everything as to how we approach all of life and every relationship. In...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we have been talking about intimacy and how important it is to experience this dynamic with God, in relationships, and inside a community. Today, we will look at a different type of intimacy, in fact, the deepest intimacy possible. In Paul’s teaching to the church at Corinth, he tied an Old Testament reality to the new reality Jesus provided. The temp...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are talking about the importance of intimacy. The past two days we have defined intimacy as when people get really close, and also when we choose to be close to God. We also defined intimacy as in-to-me-see—allowing someone to see your heart and grow in love. Another type of intimacy the Bible talks about is among a group of people, a community. Ju...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are talking about the importance of intimacy. Intimacy is the word to describe when people get really close, and also when we choose to get close to God. Yesterday, we read that He has made the first move through Jesus and wants to be as close to us as we will allow. Let me remind you of how we defined intimacy yesterday: In-to-me-see. That means a...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are going to talk about the importance of intimacy. Intimacy is the word to describe when people get really close, like a dad to a daughter, a mother to her son, a husband to a wife, or God to us. The best way to remember what intimacy means is to just say the word by its syllables. In-to-me-see. Intimacy is allowing someone to see your heart, who...

Today we close out this week on teaching our kids what love is. I know some of the teachings we have looked at from Jesus this week are some of the toughest ones, but isn’t it fascinating that the overall theme of those is still love? Why? Because loving like God loves, in this world, is never going to be easy. That’s why we made a conscious choice to look at the truth about love from the Christia...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. Let’s be honest … when people talk about God’s love, too often it’s kind of a unicorns and rainbows thing. It sounds religious or like a fantasy and so we really don’t attempt to accept it for ourselves or apply it to others. Well, this week, we are trying to look at what God’s love really means, for...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. One of the things we love about God’s love is hearing how much He loves us, will forgive us, and show us incredible mercy and grace, no matter what we do. But then the very tough thing about God’s love is, as sinners, we struggle when He tells us to love others that we do not want to love. Teaching ou...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. God has assigned us the role of teaching them about love, to lead and be their example, to help them see by words and actions that authenticity is the only way to understand love, especially His love. Real love and intimacy require vulnerability and sincerity. And God’s Word is the original love lette...

Inside our theme of love this month, this week we are focusing on teaching our kids what love is. We have to lead and be their example, to help them see by words and actions that authenticity is the only way to understand love, especially the brand of love God gives us, not what the world throws at us every day. Real love and intimacy require vulnerability and sincerity. For all these reasons, God...

Today’s passage from Romans 12  Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to hel...

The words of Paul from Ephesians 4 … Therefore I … beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you...

Ephesians 2:14-18 NLT For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body,...

Matthew 9:9-13 NLT As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “W...

(Psalm 16:1-3, 5-8 NIV) Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” … Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful...

You’d be hard-pressed to go to a Christian wedding and not hear some part of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 read, also known as The Love Chapter. But today, let’s look at how Paul defined biblical love in verses 4-7 as we think about being proactive in love to battle hate. 1 Corinthians 13 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is...