In the last six months or so I’ve been involved in planning several different sessions (lessons and gatherings) for men, to challenge men to pursue purity. Â The theme verse for all these evens has been 2 Timothy 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on …
Category: Musings
Definitions of Worship
There are a variety of ways to define worship; here are a few of mine. Encounter and Expression Encounter: Meeting with God, seeing, who He is, understanding His attributes and character, what He does for you (It is thanksgiving focused on the source.) Expression: Celebrating what God has done, who God is based on your …
Sin, Guilt and Grace
God hates sin because He loves people and wants what is best for them −including intimacy with Him God always extends grace to those who seek forgiveness −He requires our honesty before Him, not just on a specific sin, but on our inability to overcome sin on our own Once grace is extended guilt is removed. −the …
Living it out
I have often stated that teaching is information for transformation.  But what is the opposite?  What happens when we teach or when we learn but are not transformed? In a conversation with George May (Pastor of Counseling and Family Ministries at Calvary Church), he used the following quote (I need to find the author): Information without …
What is the “main thing†for church?
What is the “main thing” for church? Is it the main worship service? Is it the main teaching time? Is it the main fellowship time? Surely the main thing is not the size of our building. Surely the main thing is not the quantity of our programs. Surely the main thing is not the history …
Who you are. . .
I was challenged recently by a statement in a sermon by David Loveless, pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida. He made a statement to the affect of, “I get tired of hearing people, in prayer, tell God, ‘thank you for who you are.’ If you said that to your wife, she would say, ‘Who …
Communication: Teaching and Learning
I’ve been thinking about learning and teaching. Some observations about learning and teaching in the church. Teachers tend to think about sharing what they have learned. Student tend to think about interacting with what they have learned and what the teacher knows. Teachers tend to think about what they want to teach. Student tend to …