Living in a Post-Christian Culture
If you look at the latest survey results, most people living in the US, no longer consider themselves Christian. Europe when that way decades ago. Western Culture is now a post-Christian Culture. How should Christians adjust?
The Other Side of the Boat
Twice in his ministry, Jesus told his disciples to fish on the other side of the boat. Both times they hauled up huge catches. Is there a lesson there for us? How can we fish on the other side of the boat today?
Waging Spiritual War – 6 – Broken Arrow
“Broken Arrow” is a military term used in the Viet Nam war. When command officers, monitoring a battle, heard this code term on their radios, they knew their troops were in danger of being completely overrun. They were to respond with immediate death-dealing air support delivering close-in bombing. We use it here to describe God’s immediate response when we embrace truth and resist lies.
Waging Spiritual War – 5 – Resisting Lies with Truth
The Bible tells us that, as Christian Soldiers, our weapons are not physical. We don’t need fighter planes or machine guns. How do we, then, fight “the good fight of faith?” In this presentation, we go into detail about how to wage war against the lies of the adversary.
Waging Spiritual War – 4 – Rules of Engagement
Every army has rules soldiers follow in dealing with the enemy. How do Christian soldiers engage the adversary? What tactics do they use and under what circumstances? How and when do they use their weapons? Do you know the rules for spiritual combat?
Waging Spiritual Warfare – 3 – Weapons Training
The Apostle Paul, using a clever metaphor, lists the weapons Christians can use to wage spiritual warfare. When we read it we are impressed by how clever Paul was to come up with such an excellent literary device. If we hold to that, without understanding the vital message he conveyed, we’ve missed the whole point. Seriously, what is all this about the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation? Do you know how to swing the sword of the spirit?
Waging Spiritual War – 2 – Enemy Tactics
In this second part of the series, Waging Spiritual War, we go to boot camp and learn of the enemy’s tactics. We know the devil is a deceiver. He’s so good at it that he has replaced God as “the God of this world.” but how did he do it? We explore his weapons in this presentation.
Waging Spiritual War – 1 – Enlisting
The Bible refers to the Christian life as spiritual warfare. Why would God want Christians to think of life that way? What does it mean to be at war spiritually in terms of everyday life? What are the advantages? If we don’t think of life as a war, are we missing something?
Pottery 101 – FoT
The Bible tells us that God is the potter and we are the clay. This is an ingenious connection back to creation when Adam was formed from red clay. However, there is more to the picture than just creation. God has given us life. Now he is forming us, molding us, making us the way he wants us to be. The circumstances of our lives are his hands on us. This presentation explores our part in this process.
The Best Holy Day – Atonement
Is there any way one of God’s seven annual festivals can be “better” than another? Probably not. Each one is the best for the lesson God is teaching. Still, it is permissible for us to have our favorites. Mine is Atonement. Here’s why.
Jesus’ Return Date – TR
Ever since Jesus departed for heaven, Christians have been trying to figure out when he was coming back. Many people, since then, have made dogmatic predictions about the exact date, and many have believed them. But so far, everyone has been wrong. Is there a way to figure it out? Do we even need to know? Or is what Jesus said about his return in the Bible all we need?
Premarital Considerations – The God-Based Marriage – 10
We just completed our series, The God-Based Marriage, in which we enumerated 9 organizing principles of marriage. How can those who are not married but want to be, use this information? Listen to this presentation to learn three ways the series can help you prepare for marriage.
Commitment – The God-Based Marriage – 9
So far in this series, we have covered most of the fundamentals undergirding the God-based marriage. We saved this one for last because commitment is the one that makes marriage work when problems arise. It is also true that the concept of committed marriage is becoming lost in our culture. One of my counseling clients told me she didn’t know anyone who believed that marriage was for life. The results of this terrible loss are seen in the divorce statistics. Less than half of all marriages survive. Tune into this series to learn more about how to make a marriage last a lifetime.
Repairing Ruptured Relationships – The God-Based Marriage – 8
There are no perfect people. Consequently, there are no perfect marriages. Relational ruptures often occur. How do we repair an issue in marriage when it happens? This presentation offers practical help.
Marital Communication – The God-Based Marriage – 7
Research shows us that most of the problems between husband and wives stem from poor communication—misunderstanding each other, in other words. This may be hard to believe. But, after watching many couples attempt to communicate, I believe the research. This presentation offers a potent tool to smooth out communication and help couples meet each other heart to heart.
Emotional Connection – The God-Based Marriage – 6
Love is such a hard concept to define, we decided to focus on the emotional connection that produces love. Find emotional connection with your mate, and you and your mate will love each other. Since the Bible shows us that emotional connection is the essence of love (and so does science), this presentation delves into the components of it.
Having Your Mate’s Back – The God-Based Marriage – 5
If we are smart, we know that we need someone to have our back. Scripture reveals that God knew that Adam was not complete when he created Eve to be a support for him. Adam needed help. We see that Adam recognized this and was happy about what God had done. Later in the NT, we learn that Adam (and all husbands) are also to have their wife’s back as well, each one supporting the other in the specific way that is most helpful. Consider, in this presentation, what that looks like in a God-Based Marriage.
Heirs Together – The God-Based Marriage – 4
While marriage is an everyday relationship, it also looks beyond this life to the goal a husband and wife can both attain in the Kingdom of God. This goal causes a God-Based marriage to become a spiritually beneficial relationship for both parties, as they support each other in spiritual things. For that reason, knowing that a husband and wife are “heirs together of the grace of life,” organizes marriage into a profoundly spiritual endeavor.
Sacrificial Love – The God-Based Marriage – 3
Jesus said that laying down one’s life for one’s friends was the greatest love of all. How does this apply to marriage, when the marriage is God-Based? It’s the most powerful aspect of a healthy marriage. Are you good that this kind of love?
God is a Farmer – Pentecost
Jesus told us his Father is a farmer. Our Father is growing a crop of beings for his kingdom. We are those crops. What’s the import of that? God has a plan and we are a part of it. He is tending to us, cultivating, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting. In our age, disconnected from the land, this might not mean much to us, but if we want to know what God is doing, we would be wise to learn more about his farming efforts.
The Golden Rule – The God-Based Marriage – 2
Jesus, in his spiritual brilliance, compressed the entire Old Testament into one sentence. We call it the Golden Rule. This rule operates behind the scenes in heaven and on earth. It’s not just universal, but also spiritual, then. How does it function in marriage? Is it vital or irrelevant?
God’s Universal Hierarchy – The God-Based Marriage – 1
Perhaps the most important organizing principle of marriage is the way God and Jesus conduct their own relationship. It’s a model for relationships across the entire creation, both in heaven and on earth.
The organizing Principles – The God-Based Marriage – Introduction
God makes everything according to a plan, with organizing principles underlying each creation. He created marriage this way. If we know the organizing principles and follow them, it stands to reason that being married happily depends on the application of these principles in the relationship. This series aims to lay them out, all in one package for easy review, and to explain each one with examples and scriptures. We hope this can be helpful for premarital and newlyweds, as well as those who have been married for years.
Becoming Unleavened – A Passover Presentation
Every spring in ancient Israel, God instructed the people to hold a harvest festival in which they ate unleavened bread. It was an annual reminder that their predecessors ate unleavened bread the night they fled Egypt, not having time to let their dough rise. Much later, the Apostle Paul, while writing about this festival, compares leavening to sin in the Christian life. He confirms that we also are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread—not only eating unleavened bread but also to become unleavened in our hearts, to strive for a sin-free life, as we strive to follow the example Jesus set for us
Watching the News
Most of us, no matter our religious or political affiliation, find it hard to watch the news. Most Christians know that God tells us to keep up with world events. However, due to the deepening political division in the United States, human bias colors reporting across the media spectrum. It is often hard to discern the truth. Is there a way to parse the news from a godly perspective? We think so.