I was reading Hebrews 11 at some point in the past month and a portion of that passage stood out to me. Hebrews 11 is about faith. It gives a list of people who had faith in this world. Their faith led to obedience to God despite the reaction of the world. Many of these … Continue reading Of Whom The World Was Not Worthy →

In my Master’s classes I recently took Conflict Resolution In The Church. After reading books like Redeeming Church Conflicts and Making Peace, studying material concerning conflict resolution in the church, and completing assignments on this topic, I have come to especially appreciate forgiveness. The goal of conflict resolution is unity and the path to unity … Continue reading Forgiveness, The Path To Unity And Peace →

On February 5th a New York Times article by Virginia Heffernan was perhaps one of the craziest things I have read. It sounded like satire. If you told me it was written by The Onion or The Babylon Bee, I would have believed it. But no. Our world is not a sane one.  The story … Continue reading How Dare You Be Kind →

On Valentine’s Day I preached on Esther and connected her story with ours; she became the wife of the king who loved her like we did in our conversion to the Lord to become his glorious bride. As the bride of Christ we have a responsibility to submit to his higher position, “For the husband … Continue reading Our Marriage With God →

Christians may experience conflicts that offer no opportunity to reconcile with their offender. In these situations, reconciliation and closure are out of reach and the focus must be placed upon healing emotional wounds.  We need to take the time to educate ourselves of scriptures concerning peace and forgiveness and educate themselves on the process of … Continue reading Process of Forgiveness →

Mark portrays Christ’s crucifixion alluding to the triumphal procession of a Roman Emperor. Mark’s narrative begins with the Roman soldiers leading Jesus into “the courtyard of the palace.” The word Mark uses to refer to this place is praetorium, which could apply to military headquarters in king but was also the common designation in Rome … Continue reading The Glorious Victory of Forgiveness →

Forgiveness and the willingness to offer it is an internal peace. Before peace in the church ever occurs, the parties involved in a conflict must be resolved to forgive and so have that internal peace. The internal peace shared by the members of the church will create external peace amongst them. When we forgive others … Continue reading The Peace of Forgiveness →

Ken Sande in The Peace Maker points out that forgiveness is countercultural and says, “In fact, left to our own instincts, we are disposed to do just the opposite.” Perhaps this is a characteristic of the flesh as Paul describes, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold … Continue reading The Struggle to Forgive →

Taken from Designed to Lead, edited by Bobby Price God is deeply passionate for His Church, for His bride, and ferociously committed to maturing her. For this reason, "He personally gave some to be.. pastors and teachers"(Eph. 4: 11). He personally involves Himself in the process of setting apart pastors and teachers, not to do … Continue reading Clergy and Laity →

God’s word soothes the contentious heart of mankind. His Truth sets us free from the toxic sin that festers in our hearts--the hate, the greed, the grudges. God’s Truth is more than a simple truth, a simple statement of reality like, “The sky is blue.” The Truth pricks our hearts like a vaccine in our … Continue reading Homesick Language →