Don’t You Folks Read Your Bible?
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Dr. John Mitchell, the founder of Multnomah University use to say the above to his students during his classes. Dr. Mitchell’s knowledge of the word was amazing, and he regularly quoted whole books from memory. The funny thing is, Dr. Mitchell didn’t have a memorization plan. His recall was simply developed by regularly spending time [...]
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Thoughts on Genesis
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
We have been in our study of the book of Genesis now for three weeks, and I pray you are being stretched as I teach what is commonly called the historical creation view of Genesis 1. While this is a view of the creation story that many have probably not heard, I hope that I [...]
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Missions & Missional
Friday, August 19th, 2011
I ran across this great reminder of our call to follow our God, who is by his very nature a sender. As we are preparing to move from the cinema to the high school, let us not forget that we have been sent out into the world, both here in Sandy, and across our borders [...]
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Killing Moralism
Monday, August 8th, 2011
Yesterday morning as we worked through Matthew 5:17-48, we wrestled with the righteousness that God requires of those who are a part of the kingdom of heaven. What we saw Jesus emphasizing in his Sermon on the Mount was that he accomplished what we could not, so that we could live righteous before God. Jesus [...]
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The Gospel Community
Thursday, June 9th, 2011
Over the last few months we have been working through the book of 1 Thessalonians where we have made an effort to note the ways that the church is God’s gospel community. 1 Thessalonians as John Stott noted is showing, “how the gospel creates the church, how the church spreads the gospel, and how the [...]
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How To Identify Your Idols
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Lately I have been thinking through the reality of the idols in my own life (the good or bad things I set up and enthrone as ultimate things). I have even had the chance to start up discussions with the youth group on identifying the idols in our lives.
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Why the Gospel Is Good News for Believers . . . Now
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
I came across a great article today in my daily blog reading. It speaks to the fact that the Gospel is GOOD NEWS, and that if it is not good news to you, than your understanding of the Gospel is way too small…
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Better Than Life
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” — Psalm 63:3 (NIV)
The Bible teaches us that Jesus is better than life. So, then, the great question is this: Why is it that we don’t actually believe that?
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“How Does Worship Transform Us?”
Monday, February 7th, 2011
For many of us, worship is nothing more than the songs one sings on a Sunday morning before a pastor stands up to teach what the Bible says about a given topic. There is just one problem with this understanding of worship, namely the Bible…
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Am I A Legalist?
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Instead of pursuing the Bible to know, to love, and to worship Jesus better, many of us have created for ourselves a “new law.” A law that is not from God, but from ourselves (or perhaps even well-meaning leaders or friends within the church – other legalists). Yes, it is good and right for us to read the Bible. Yes, we should read and know it all. But, to feel guilt and shame for not doing it in the manner that we have set out for ourselves is wrong – even sinful perhaps…