06/04/2014 — As we approach Pentecost, the anniversary of the Holy Spirit’s coming-out party, it’s worth remembering that it coincides with one of the Jews’ three annual feasts. God established these feasts and commanded offerings for each one for a purpose. Because Pentecost comes roughly at the halfway point of the calendar year, it’s worth asking: are you still putting God first in your life? Or have the disciplines you sought to establish in January fallen by the wayside, where you wish you could forget about them?Read More

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05/20/2014 — We may not expect our small decisions to have a great impact. But they inevitably lead to significant results – which makes our “small” decisions pretty important.

The apostle James must have known this because he warned us: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, ESV). We often focus on the last admonition in that verse, and rightly so. But we should also take seriously the instruction to submit to God, because that ultimately prepares us to resist the devil.

Submission isn't a popular topic in our be-all-you-can-be, make-a-name-for-yourself culture. But it's essential to staying on track in the Christian life. And failing to stay on track can have tragic consequences, both for you and your loved ones.Read More

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05/13/2014 — One of the most indelible moments of my ministry came in 1999, when I was permitted to record editions of my television program, "Breakthrough," from the site of the mass murder at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Social scientists made a cottage industry of analyzing and proclaiming what happened at Columbine, variously laying the blame on the availability of guns, bullying and even the violence depicted in video games of the era. They all got it wrong. The Columbine massacre had at its roots a worldview called nihilism, which denies all existence and rejects any and all standards of moral or religious behavior.

Nihilism is the worldview of "whatever" taken to a horrifying extreme. It rejects the notion of hope – a condition that the Church of Jesus Christ should be expert in sharing, but often fails miserably to communicate. Read More

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05/06/2014 — When you pray, I know without a doubt that you are expecting something.

You either expect that God will answer your prayer, or that He won't answer your prayer. But you expect an answer; otherwise, why pray? I've found over 30 years of public ministry that those who expect answers get them and those who don't expect answers get what they ask for as well.

In the last week of His life Jesus taught His disciples, and us, an important lesson about praying with faith. It really makes all the difference. Read More

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04/22/2014 — The theme of our local congregations’ Easter celebrations this year was “Welcome Home.” The idea was to invite people to a place that will accept you, no matter how badly you’ve messed up, because that’s (ideally) what family members do for each other.

For my Easter sermon I had my staff find a picture of Judy Garland as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” to help show that at some point, we all want to go home – to a place of safety and acceptance. Even in the midst of the adventure of her life, Dorothy wanted nothing more than to go home. The irony, of course, is that before Dorothy left home she wasn’t all that excited about being there. She has a lot in common with the prodigal son that Jesus talked about in Luke 15, but that’s another train of thought for another day.

The Church can, and should, be home for any Christian. Some congregations may provide a better fit than others, but if we’re all children of the King, we should be able to see the family resemblance every time we enter a house of worship. Read More

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