Category: sermon based groups

Discussion-based lessons have groups talking and changing. We are changed more by what we say than...

According to linguists, abracadabra is the most universally used word that doesn’t need...

I live on a street where the men have a habit of watering the front lawn by hand with a garden...

SOME YEARS AGO we planted a tree on the west side of our house expecting it to grow and eventually...

God’s Gift of Specialists Up to this point, we have explored the foundations of our new life in...

Deep in our souls, like the woman at the well, we thirst for joy, security, meaning, unconditional...

Truth #4: Every person will spend eternity in heaven with Christ and fellow believers or in hell...

As an Asian kid, when I was growing up, I never noticed roof racks on cars. That’s because Asian...

If you’ve spent any time watching home-improvement shows on TV, you’ve seen plenty of examples of...

When the elder brother hears from the servants that his younger brother has returned and has been...

Tim Keller says that when we experience the inevitable disappointment that comes from drinking out...

Typically, as we engage in conversation, we’ll naturally progress through the interests and values...

Truth #3: Every person will be judged and granted the extended capacity to fulfill in eternity the...

There is an inverse relationship between the size of the group and the amount of life change. The...

A lot is packed into Ephesians 4:7–10, the four verses we’ve covered in this chapter. They present...

Artist-musician Madonna made a career out of pushing the limits of morality. Every few years she...

“There was a man who had two sons.” The Lost Younger Brother Jesus’s story might best be named the...

I got a clear picture of this transformation process pretty early in my Christian experience. My...

Both older brothers and younger brothers are with us today, in the same society and often in the...

In the Bible, we see Jesus eating a lot of meals. Why? Because Jesus came to bring people and God...

According to classic evolution, a simple cell slowly evolved into more complex plants and animals...

It’s also helpful to think of these types of questions as catalyst questions. They act the same...

“I’m missing something.” That’s the shared sentiment of almost every person who has ever...

I was a Christian for years before the reality of this truth dawned on me. I knew that believers...

Typically, when we as Christians get fired up to do evangelism, we go out solo. We go and sign up...

It’s easy to get caught up in the fascinating background of Ephesians 4:7–10 and forget the...

Maybe the most pathetic part of Israel creating their own “God” is that they now had the burden of...

People often ask me, “Is there a limit to what we should go to as Christians?” I usually reply...

Only God can transform us. But as we’ve seen, that doesn’t mean we sit passively by while He works...

Luke 15 informs us in verses 1–3 that Jesus told not one but three parables to the Pharisees who...

I was sitting at a Broadway play.† At halftime (though I think they call it intermission), I stood...

Hell is one of the most misunderstood concepts in all of Scripture. Because we have heard very...

Most readings of this parable have concentrated on the flight and return of the younger...

The irony is that when we reshape God into our image, the result is not the bolder, more confident...

One Expression at a Time SHELLY HOLLIS WAS A YOUNG CHRISTIAN who wanted people to know Jesus. She...

Our church designated a particular Sunday as a “Family Service.” The whole morning worship service...

Knowing the truth isn’t enough. It’s a start, but a lot of people know things they don’t act on,...

God so loved the world that He gave His Son. He has made the greatest sacrifice so everyone who...

This short book is meant to lay out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel. It can,...

We’ve just finished dinner, and all I want to do is to turn on the TV and chill. But there’s a...

Can we imagine how offensive it must be to God when we attempt to reshape him according to our...

One Word at a Time IT’S TIME FOR ME to tell you about Ignaz Semmelweis. Yeah, I know. You’ve been...

Let me tell you two stories. Here’s the first one: Last night, my wife and I were kicking back...

The day after Tim Keller died I bought his biography. Great Read. I was so impressed with his life...

The final reason I believe the Bible is God’s Word is more experiential, but it is extraordinarily...

Go to Their Things My wife and I have made it a priority to simply go. Birthday parties,...

In the New Testament, Jesus shows up and fights for his right to party. We repeatedly see Jesus at...

Life-change doesn’t begin with an experience. It may involve an experience, and experiences can...

Don’t Be a Prig I HAVE A COLLEGE FRIEND named Caleb. His parents, both college professors,...

I AM NOT SAYING I’m an attorney. I mean, I didn’t go to law school. I did, however, watch a bunch...

It is commonplace in all the churches to call Christianity a religion of grace. It is a truism of...

In Luke 7, we read the powerful story of a woman anointing and washing Jesus’ feet with her hair,...

IF YOU HAD TO NARROW IT TO ONE, what emotion would best describe how you feel right now? Depending...

Your transformation is possible not because you are empowered to do better but because you have...

I told you about one of my first jujitsu rolls when I unknowingly challenged a higher belt who...

It was the Friday night before the Australia Day (which is Australia’s equivalent to the USA’s...

Not only did Jesus come as the Hedge-Breaker, but he told his followers that they were to devote...

Once, when discussing the nature of salvation with a skeptical intellectual named Nicodemus, Jesus...

The seventh reason I believe that the Bible is the very Word of God is transmission. The Bible’s...

Nathan Campbell, an Australian pastor and blogger, came up with the phrase, “Evangelism in a...

Understanding what it means to identify with Jesus’ death is so critical for our transformation...

People often ask me, “Why can’t we just evangelize the same way Billy Graham did?” What’s wrong...

Do you believe in divine judgment? By which I mean, do you believe in a God who acts as our Judge?...

An American friend once dismissed this whole approach to evangelism as “friendship evangelism.”...

Previously, I asked you, What do you most need to do to have what you want most? Now I want to...

I’ve known many people who talk a lot about change but can’t quite pull the trigger to make it...

When I arrived at the boarding gate, only two other people were waiting to board the late-night...

The Proximity Principle ON A HOT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DAY, I sat on the curb of a street just down...

One way to make friends is simply to get to know your neighbors. For a while, my wife and I were...

There is no such thing as Christian work. That is, there is no work in the world which is, in and...

Hudson Taylor was a missionary to China in the 1800s and, by almost all accounts, an unusually...

Seeking to understand revival is like attempting to comprehend the Trinity. We cannot fathom the...

I have a bit of training in the martial arts. I am very familiar with Daniel LaRusso aka the...

Maybe you’re like me when my professor looked at me with disdain, as though I had thrown my brains...

St. John’s twice-repeated statement, “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16), is one of the most tremendous...

Midlife Crisis Meets Evangelism Paul was married and had young children. He was successful in his...

The non-Christian world raises many intellectual and philosophical objections to Christianity, but...

People can have the same goals yet get vastly different results. No married couple starts out...

The aged apostle was banished to the desolate isle of Patmos, exiled for the crime of spreading...

Typically, as Christians, we have two separate universes of friends. We have a universe of...

But there is one line that lies at the heart of the book’s story—and at the heart of your story as...

Myopia is nearsightedness, the inability to see clearly at a distance. One of the reasons many...

A second thing that convinces me Jesus was not an impostor is the evidence for his resurrection...

The term community refers to friends and family we know, love, and trust. Community is the most...

It’s time to define your win. After all, defining your win is how you begin. So how do you...

Dave was addicted to pornography. He was also a believer in Jesus. He had been born again, yet he...

Plausibility Structures We are happy to believe the Jesus story over the UFO story because of what...