The Gospel and the Christian Life

The Mad Dash for Meaning

Posted by David Steele | Jun 22, 2017 | Featured, Psalms | 0 |

Psalm 8:1-9 Chris Cornell, the lead singer of the band, Soundgarden stepped on the platform at the Fox Theater in Detroit on May 17. Two hours after the show ended, he was dead. Medical examiners determined that he had hung himself. Cornell is memorialized as a father and a philanthropist. One writer called him “the elder statesman of rock.”[1] When I learned the sad news about Cornell, I prayed for his family and friends. I prayed that God would comfort them in their time of sorrow. I went to Soundgarden’s website and noticed they had a full tour schedule...

Left, Right, Left…

Posted by Erik Raymond | Jun 22, 2017 | Featured, The Gospel and the Christian Life | 0 |

Left, Right, Left… When I was eighteen years old, I joined the military. I wish I could say I joined out of a sense of duty or patriotism, but I did not. I was a rebellious, unreliable, irresponsible kid. Evidently I was just the type of kid they were looking for, because I soon found myself surrounded by dozens of like-minded “brothers.” The training instructors (TIs) had a plan, though. They had six weeks to shape some raw material into productive members of the military. They were going to create an identity, pride, a work ethic, and responsibility. I...

Seven Tips for Sharing the Gospel with Teens

Posted by Jaquelle Crowe | Jun 20, 2017 | Featured, The Gospel and the Christian Life | 0 |

What Just Happened? I hadn’t seen my friend McKenzie in months. Now we sat together in a coffee shop downtown, two teens sipping mugs of hot tea and catching up on life. A lot had happened, and conversation flowed freely. Except for one problem—my stomach was in knots. McKenzie was not a Christian, and I felt desperately like I needed share the gospel with her. Yet there seemed to be a disconnect between my brain and my mouth. The words just weren’t coming out. I felt embarrassed. Dumb. Inadequate. Doubtful. And then suddenly, the conversation was over, we were...

Good News for the Burdened, the Struggling, and the Weary

Posted by Dave Jenkins | Jun 20, 2017 | Featured, The Gospel and the Christian Life | 0 |

It happened again. I made a mistake and went into “kick my own rear end” mode. It doesn’t matter what I did or how many times I might have made any mistake; I often find myself going into this mode. Over the past year or two, I’ve reflected on why this is and also have asked some people close to me about why I do this. The overwhelming response is because I enjoy it and need to stop it. I need to stop doing this because it dismisses the good news of the gospel and also undermines who I...

The Danger Zone

Posted by David Steele | Jun 19, 2017 | Featured, Psalms | 0 |

Psalm 2:1-6 There is a specific response that God demands from us in Scripture. When you hear that someone makes a demand, there is an underlying implication of authority. In our culture, the very mention of the word demand automatically invites skepticism. In our age of anti-authoritarianism, anyone making a demand is likely to face stiff opposition. However, God is not moved. The Creator makes a series of demands that every creature is obligated to obey: God calls all people to acknowledge the greatness of his worth. ““Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like...