The Local Church

In 1 Peter 1 and 2, we find four key words that can really help us picture the scripture's application: Conformed, Holy, Redeemed and Crave. Which one might God want you to examine to help you find truth and growth?

A primer in fighting lions, the Battle at Kruger and the Lake Ann Camp diving team. Peter tells us to be alert and resist the devil, God told Cain to watch out for crouching sin that wants to destroy us, Jesus said we should take sin very seriously. Why? Because sin robs us of the very thing that Jesus died to give us. Life. The very thing sin promises is the what it steals. We can't stop fighting...

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivers what is often titled, "The Sermon on the Mount." This sermon could more appropriately be titled, "The Sermon on the Monarchy." Here, Jesus paints a picture of what life under his rule and reign looks like and delivers a challenge to his disciples that was wrapped in cultural significance; a challenge to "Go Two".  Matthew 5:38-42.

Before a house is built the architect determines the width and height and depth of the structure. This is what Peter gives us in the opening paragraphs of his first letter to the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Peter's first letter is a beautiful letter to Christians everywhere at anytime who are experiencing suffering and need a dose of encouragement to Never Let Go.

Shaquille O'Neal undercover Lyft, the Road(s) to Emmaus, and how Jesus quickly becomes the host when invited as the guest. Eating a meal is one of the last things that Jesus does with his disciples before his death and it's the first thing he does after he is resurrected. It's at the table where Jesus breaks bread, blesses it, eyes are opened and lives our changed. Luke 24:13-35

Evangelize...just the word alone makes most modern Christians cringe, but should it? Jesus thought we would share the gospel wherever we went, and he certainly did. He just often did it in ways that we don't expect. "The Son of Man came eating and drinking." Jesus often shared the gospel by his invitations to eat and drink, he met people in their place of pain with love. It was the power of hospit...

Apple's commercial during the '84 Super Bowl has gone down as one of the best and most provocative commercials in the past 50 years. It asked people to think differently and was intended to make us a little uncomfortable. Today's look at the gospels we've grown up with in protestant America (the Evangelical gospel, Reformed gospel, Prosperity gospel and Social gospel) will probably do the same thi...

Fake 20$ bills, the gospel and why calling people who are far from God “lost” may not be as demeaning as it sounds. Today we dive into the calling of Jesus for every Christian to “preach the gospel” in an era where the American Gospels are leaving us with, as David Foster Wallace once said, a collective sense of “lostness”.

What it means to be thirsty and why the gospel is for anyone and everyone, and for all of the time. At the Feast of Tabernacles in John's gospel, Jesus makes a bold claim that he is the source of new life and salvation, and the only thing required to receive this is simple: thirst.  John 7:37-38.

There is an old adage that we often overestimate what can be accomplished in one year and underestimate what can be accomplished in five. God has done so much in our midst these past five years that we have to celebrate. Yet, while it's good to celebrate for a moment, there are five really important things we can't do if we want to celebrate five years from now. God comes where he is wanted...

Leon was taken from his mother at the age of two due to her illness, had a mental breakdown at the age of 12 and lost his father a few years later. Well on his way to becoming "just another statistic", the risen Jesus began to resurrect Leon's life. This is the hope of Easter, that no one is too far gone, that death no longer gets to have the last word and that sin no longer needs to determine the...

"The Shalane Effect", buying a house, and the good news of Jesus' arrival. Palm Sunday and Jesus' arrival is a critical moment in God's story from start to finish. Jesus' presence brings some promises along with it: the Kingdom of God is here. Yet at times, through the pages of scripture and the world around us, we are left asking like John the Baptist, "Jesus, are you the one, or shall we look fo...

The Gospel is a narrative with four key points. At Creation, God created a good world. At the Fall, creation (and humanity with it) became disordered. Just look at the reality of our world! It is broken and it is dark. We must take the time to understand just how DARK the darkness is, so that we can appreciate the goodness of the Gospel. Next week we'll talk about the last two points in the s...

Have you ever been so excited to tell the world something special has happened in your life? God enjoys making good news announcements as well. In fact that's what the Gospel is all about and the good news of Jesus was directly opposed to the good news of Caesar. Makes for a tension filled experience... which one will we believe?

Renewing your wedding vows after 10, 15, 25 years is often powerful because the couple renewing them intimately understands the cost of the vows. They also intimately understand the blessing and beauty that is bought with that cost. The same is true for Israel in Joshua 24 and true for us today as well.

Have you ever played in the waves of Lake Michigan only to suddenly realize that where you started is no where near where you have drifted to? In chapter 23 Joshua pulls together all the leaders of Israel to give both a warning and an encouragement. He reminds them what God has done and what will happen if they decide to align themselves with the gods of the culture around them.  The easiest...

In Joshua 10, the Israelites entered a battle against the joined forces of the Amorites, but it was God fighting on their behalf. YOU are the land being battled over today, just like that land. God has already said he's going to transform you and he's already given you His own son. How will he not do whatever you need to be transformed? The fight isn't yours—it's God's.

Forgotten birthdays, Shrek, and the Master of Disguise. The Gibeonite deception in Joshua 9 and the failures involved speak into our lives today and point us to the powerful reality of God's grace to receive and accept.

Have you ever done something you know you shouldn't so you tried to hide the evidence? When I was a paper boy for the Flint Journal I thought I could occasionally hide some ad's that I didn't want to take the time to deliver. It worked for a few years, until the day it didn't... The story of Achan and Ai reminds us that our sin never stays hidden and that it always affects those around us, especia...

It can be hard to reconcile the violence recorded in Joshua 5 and 6 with the God of love that we know today. Here, we see that the defining question is "Are you on Yahweh's side or everyone else's?". Because of our heart transformation following Jesus' teachings and today's cultural differences, we may not ever be comfortable with the violence we see, but the text holds several lessons that point...

Memory is one of the most important spiritual tools Christians can use in times of trouble. When crossing the Jordan into a new and marvelous (but equally intimidating) land, Joshua and the Israelites built memorials that would remind people of God's faithfulness for generations to come. Are you keeping a record of the ways God has been faithful? You will encounter something one day that seems BIG...

Have you ever felt like an outsider? Like everyone knew the rules and the language and the handshakes and you just didn’t? The story of the foreign born prostitute hero of Joshua 2 is both awkwardly cringeworthy and beautifully instructive. This unexpected story teaches us about what God is like and why that should change how we treat the outsider.

When you hear the question "Who helped you find and follow Jesus" what faces pop into your mind? These people invariably sacrificed their time, energy and resources so you could experience what they had. This is what three of the tribes did in Joshua 1:10-19 and there is a lesson in this seemingly insignificant story for us. Who are the people that your face will pop up in their mind when they hea...

Are you on the cusp of something new, a job transition, relationship, a move or new phase of life? This is where Israel found itself as Moses has dies and Joshua is asked to lead the fledgling nation into the Promised Land. There's three lessons we can learn from Joshua's commissioning as we start our study of the book named after him. Promises have consequences, even for God.

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