The Perfecting Church

In our journey of faith, we are often tempted to settle in our comfort zones, satisfied with the blessing we have received thus far and content to wait on rapture or resurrection for our exit. But what if there’s more—a higher call, a deeper surrender, a greater devotion that God requires, and that adds to us the significance we spend so much of this life seeking in other places? What if the path...

Everything in the physical realm began in the unseen, spiritual realm. All we can see and handle was once a thought in God’s mind and a word in His mouth. Seeing and experiencing life abundantly is rooted in knowing God as the originator and source of all things. When we live ignorant of this all-encompassing truth, we see and experience life from a scarcity mindset, confined to being in this worl...

God’s rescue and reclaiming of humankind through Jesus Christ is the most exceptional act of love in the history of creation. There will never be another act of love more extravagant than God choosing to willingly give Himself for us. Jonah shows just how hopelessly we are lost in the madness of sin. It’s complicated because we’re loved by a God who is dedicated to our good and more aware of what...

The American Dream has been redefined by the next generation. They no longer want to live lead by a pursuit of provision and security first. They aren’t willing to simply pursue a secure place in the world. The next generation is fueled by a passion to make a difference and change the world.

God has an overarching plan for creation and our lives. He has created all things for His glory, that all of creation might reflect His goodness, honoring Him as Lord. When we get off track, departing from the unique plans and purposes for which we were created, God is so fierce in His all encompassing love that He interrupts the course of our lives. Our lives are marked by holy interruptions and...

Christmas expresses the truth of God With Us in a way that requires us to grasp its gift over and over again to truly and fully appreciate it. Receiving the gift of Immanuel transforms us into someone radically different from who we were or ever could be. Jesus, embodying flesh, yet miraculously ushering in His Spirit and truth, is the most awe-inspiring act of and for humanity. Mary, the mother o...

Since the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden, we have sought to return to God’s presence. Despite man’s best efforts to obey the law or carry the Ark of the Covenant, we were unable to return to Eden. However, God’s love is so great that when we couldn’t get to Him, He came to us. The greatest gift, God with us, changes everything because even when we aren’t looking He sees us!

We must always remember who we are, priest of the Most High God. And despite the difficulties and seeming failures in our lives, we must trust and believe that the God of creation has our times in His hands. Since God is with us, we are free to hope in the salvation only He can provide for every situation.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, God with us — Matthew 1:23. As we enter into our last series of 2019 and the Christmas season — the celebration and remembrance of God wrapping His only begotten Son in human flesh and sending Him to be with and ultimately to give Himself for us — we are asking God to help us see a...

We live in a world full of exhausted people. Social media is taking its toll. Sleeplessness, anxiety, stress and depression are on the rise. While the age of connectivity grants us access to everything, we fend for ourselves, denying the One who can deliver us from anything what He most wants and we most need—connection with Him.

We live in a world and time where the popular solution to every difficult experience is cheer up and get over it. Too often our tendency, with even the most excruciating experiences and crippling emotions, is to shake it off with happy. Many of us are exhausted because we’re going through life with so many unresolved issues. It’s foolish at best and ungodly at worst to think we can simply put a ba...

There’s an exhaustion that comes from remembering and rehearsing the negative events and experiences we have. The words and events we remember and rehearse, build memorials within us; and tragically our tendency is to build memorials around negative experiences and carry them for the rest of our lives. When God establishes memorials He does it to remind us of Him and the significant ways He has mo...

There are things in our lives and this world that can only be overcome by fasting and prayer. We’ve all experienced it at one time or another. We give the right effort and commitment to progress or overcome, we just lack the right know how and tools. God has given us a gift in fasting and prayer. Fasting and prayer give us access to a dimension of faith that can’t be entered any other way. Fasting...

There's a unique and devastating exhaustion we can experience in this life. It's an exhaustion of the heart that comes when we start looking for another god. If you give your life to Jesus and follow Him long enough, you will experience times when you see Him moving in the lives of others, but feel as if He’s abandoned you. There will be times when people around you are being healed of their condi...

We live in a globally connected, 24/7 world, that’s been sped up to warp speed and tied together in a world-wide web. They say that New York City is the City that never sleeps, but we’ve become a nation of sleepless cities and people. Our never stop, always connected world is destroying our souls. We’re losing ourselves to exhaustion. Technology has taken the limits off of everything in this world...

Exhausted. There’s an epidemic of tired in this world. Chronic fatigue, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression are at epidemic levels all around us and in many cases it’s simply because we’re tired or more accurately stated — exhausted. This series is going to reset and restore us by taking us to answers that medicine alone can not provide. It’s time to get delivered from exhausted.

If you’ve been in a relationship of any kind — family, friendship, marital you have experienced offense. Offense can turn even the most fruitful relationship on its axis. If it is not acknowledged and unaddressed, offense can tear at the very fabric of a relationship and destroy it. Offense is a divisive weapon, creating a narrative that attempts to override the truth of God’s word.

The Greater Philadelphia region is comprised of Philadelphia, the four suburban counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and the Southern New Jersey counties of Burlington, Gloucester, Camden, and Salem. This region is shaped by Philadelphia, the 6th largest city in the United States and Camden the county seat of Camden County — the largest county in Southern New Jersey. Philadelphia is af...

The Church of Laodicea is an example of the destructive power of pride. When we think too highly of ourselves and wrongly of Jesus, we end up lukewarm. Lukewarm is worst than any other position we could be in — it’s too close to God to be cold and too far to be hot. God’s letter to the Church of Laodicea provides a prescription for the lukewarm ones.

Compromise provokes the divine discipline of God. It’s among the Church’s most destructive enemies. When we willingly lower God’s standard, we destroy ourselves and the power of our witness from within. Wherever there is compromise, Jesus comes with His two-edged sword drawn to deliver us from being lost.

Nothing challenges our faithfulness and loyalty like pain, suffering and loss. It’s not hard to find commitment when times are good, expectations are met and winning is the norm. But faithfulness is a part of our character that can’t be seen until circumstances aren’t optimal and staying committed carries no obvious benefit. It takes a special kind of person to keep it together and a special kind...

First Love is not an emotion. First love is God. The God of Heaven is our first love; He knew us, named us and embraced us before the world was. His love is the First Love here in the earth too. All other loves are secondary loves. The Church loves Him because He first loved Her. We must embrace and vigilantly work to keep first love first.

Historically the church (individually and collectively) has been used by God to transform society and bring spiritual and natural freedom. This has required disciples who respond to God’s call to take action to address issues that are larger than they can correct on their own. Through God’s leading community transformation occurs when we understand our calling; convene with wise counsel; collabora...

Opinions are as common as rocks. They are everywhere and we can all quickly pick them up. But no matter how informed or strong, opinions should never be confused with truth. Opinions are views and judgments based on personal perspective and experiences. Truth is based on unbiased and unchanging absolutes. God has purposed His Church to present and demonstrate the truth of who He is to a world full...

What was Jesus saying when He declared He would build His Church -Is His declaration still relevant for us today? The Church seems to be out of step and behind the times — is it being replaced by other social and political constructs? These questions have existed for over two millennia. But Jesus’ words, “I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not overcome it” still stand. And those wor...