I believe the world would eventually grind to a halt without folks who have a strong work ethic. However, when it comes to our faith and salvation – working hard has nothing to do with it. For many people, that can be a little hard to understand. It’s like the story of the minister who…
Can you tell the people who go all out for a celebration by how they decorate or the invitation they give? Spreading the good news for a celebration could be for anything; but Spreading the God News leads ordinary people into disciples who will invite others to the greatest celebration EVER! When we are excited…
Many years ago, I was driving from Ohio to Iowa for a week of vacation. The rest of my family had already gone ahead of me, so I was excited to join them. It was a beautiful summer day and about halfway there, I got off the Interstate to fill up my gas tank. When…
We are heading full-tilt now into our Wednesday night Youth and Life Groups for the year. During our summer months, our Wednesday nights are pretty quiet, there’s not a lot going on, the church can stay pretty neat and tidy. That’s a little less the case after a good night of Youth and Life groups!…
At our Disciples Together Worship, I introduced our theme for the coming year: “Sharing the Good News.” That’s our calling. And when we are successful in it, it’s never because of our overwhelming strength, but because of our love and hope. As disciples of Jesus, we persevere even when it would be easier to surrender.…
I bet I’m not alone in posing that question. I have recorded a few steps in my faith journey. Looking back, I see times of struggle because I was doing it “on my own”. Away from worship, away from people who would pray with and for me, away from groups where others would share stories…
It doesn’t seem possible that five years have passed since we had our first Disciples Together Weekend, but it has! This Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 8-9) will be our 5th annual Disciples Together Weekend. On Saturday, we’ll lovingly witness to our community through service projects, as groups fan out through the city. And then on…
P.T. Barnum once said that, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Unfortunately, modern day scam artists have figured this out, too. When my daughter, Lauren, was about 10 years old she got her first email address – and right away received a job offer promising her easy riches. Apparently, she clicked on the email and…
These are my favorite verses from the Bible for helping me to be content with my financial condition. They also remind me to make my spiritual condition my top priority. “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty…
One of the many things I love about the people of First Christian is that they know how to put their “thoughts and prayers” into action. It’s like the old story about the church that called a prayer meeting for some families who had lost their jobs and were struggling to make ends meet. Just…