So how do we go? How do we become that kind of church member who makes a difference in our Jerusalem? Let’s first go back to the issue of belief and motivation. Do you really believe that Christ is the only way of salvation? Are you then more motivated to share the...

Everyone has a kingdom—in the biblical sense. Your kingdom is that little sphere in which what you say goes. Your kingdom is the “range of [y]our effective will.”[9] People learn they were made to have kingdoms early on. It’s why we don’t like to be told what to do....

At two o’clock on Sunday afternoon, January 8, 2017, a giant fell to the earth, causing the ground to tremble like a palsied hand. One of the best-known giant sequoias, the Pioneer Cabin Tree, collapsed amid California storms. Pioneer Cabin, so named because its...

I remember vividly my internal reaction in the first interview. This lady, I thought, really liked the church. Her answers seem to contradict her actions. Why didn’t she return after the first visit? Well, my final question should get to the bottom of this enigma:...

Or consider the way Jesus talks about the heart worshiping him. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me” (Mark 7:6–7). In other words, external actions—even religious ones directed toward God—are not the...

What is the gospel according to you? We all—religious or not—build our lives on some gospel, some “good news” that we believe can redeem our existence. Maybe it’s money or success or reputation or health or marriage. Everybody has a gospel. This is Jesus’ gospel: God...

https://youtu.be/0CESIGvBJ6o

A quick reading of the New Testament will give you an easy answer to that question. The scene is Jesus with His disciples. The mother of James and John, identified in the text as “the mother of Zebedee’s sons,” addresses Jesus. She speaks boldly to Him: “Promise that...

If I were Satan and my ultimate goal was to thwart God’s kingdom and purposes, one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit. The degree to which this has happened (and I would argue that it is a prolific disease in the body of...

https://youtu.be/0z_uDpHTdxI

Now let me try to unpack it and defend it. Why do I define loving God mainly as treasuring God? Why do I believe that love for God is most essentially an experience of the affections, not mere thought or mere behavior? When Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep...

So what is the Good News that Jesus himself proclaimed? When that question was first posed to me, I had been a pastor for many years. I had been through seminary and then some. I was a “licensed minister of the gospel,” and if you are licensed in something, you should...

Several years ago, I had my own wake-up call about the power of groups when I was leading a research project. I would report the research in my book, High Expectations. I asked my research team to review the records of hundreds of church members who had joined their...

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me (Psalm 144:2). FYI: This is a very personal psalm from David. Saul had hunted David for years in order to kill him. David even had to...

It has been discovered that when best friends attend the same church, They attend more regularly; They feel more connected to the church; and They feel closer to God and display a more integrated faith. This being the case, why not leverage it? Put an emphasis on...

If you would like help with lessons for sermon based groups, contact me at [email protected] https://youtu.be/_DmXQjGV5UE

True worship flows from the heart in recognition and response to the magnificence of Christ, and because of an understanding of the grace found solely in the gospel. Embracing these truths through the practical experience of daily living is imperative in our...

https://youtu.be/hI3YPS9Booo

Here are a few ideas as to how you might learn more about your community: Get a demographic study. Drive or walk your community and pay attention. Do “get-o-graphics”—getting into your community, serving people, and listening to their needs. Go to the Chamber of...

No worship—no preaching, no singing, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody, is true,...

Let’s be clear. The Bible mandates us to have an attitude of unity in the church. But look at what it requires: humility, gentleness, patience, and acceptance of one another in love. Have you ever been to a church business meeting where some of those requirements were...

This is a very relevant warning for us in a day of great worship renewal. Many people are discovering the joy of meeting God in extended times of emotionally charged singing to the Lord. I personally find such seasons of lingering before the Lord a very rich communion...

Our outreach plans must be viewed as what George Hunter describes as “links in a chain.” We are only part of the process, but we never know when or if our link will be the one that fastens them to Jesus. I suggest the following be kept in mind as you develop your...

But still, Jesus does say that treating others as you want to be treated “is the Law and the Prophets.” He does not say here that two commandments are the Law and the Prophets, but only one. This seems significantly different from Matthew 22:40 where the Law and the...

In his lecture given at Talbot School of Theology in January 2007, George Hunter augmented his insights to the secular person with observations on postmodern folks. He shared nine characteristics: They assume truth is relative. The do not assume the authority of...

https://youtu.be/Ivgj3U-mddQ

First, Jesus distinguished the first and second commandment. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as...

George Hunter in his book How to Reach Secular People identifies “Ten Characteristics of Secular People.” They are as follows: They are essentially ignorant of basic Christianity. They are “ignostics”; that is, they are simply ignorant of biblical information. They...

About one out of seven guests told us, surprisingly, they did not return because the people were too friendly. Some noted that issue in the context of the stand-and-greet time, while others said it was an issue at all points in the church. “I came away worn out from...

Unfriendly church members. This response was anticipated. But the surprise was the number of respondents who included non-genuine friendliness in their answers. In other words, the guests perceived some of the church members were faking it. Unsafe and unclean...