Our number one priority in ministry is our families. God has called each of us to make known the Gospel and it starts with our own families. It can be a struggle to lead our families well but our kids are always watching what we do. If you don’t have kids begin creating habits you want your future kids to pick up. Here are some ways we can point our kids to Jesus. Continue Reading…
Let your faith be bigger than your fear
I think that perhaps one of the most debilitating, powerful forces on earth is fear. Think about it, fear is usually the culprit behind unfulfilled dreams, lack of motivation, irrational phobias, depression and hopelessness, and the list could go on and on. Fear holds us back. It is often the driving force behind our problems. If it’s not the driving force, then it usually is there to add fuel to the fire of whatever the problem might be. For instance, having financial difficulties might not be a direct result of fear, but once we experience trouble paying bills, the fear starts to set in. We start to worry and conjure up all kinds of worse case scenarios. We worry we will lose our home, that we won’t be able to pay our bills, or support our families.
Jesus is ALIVE
Jesus is ALIVE.
That statement should shake you to your core and rock you to unparalleled passion. Do you want to live a life with freedom, passion, boldness, peace, joy, and love? If we live in the reality that Jesus is alive, then we will. The trouble is many of us don’t live in the reality that Christ is alive.
You see, many of us live in despair, depression, timidity, anxiety, and bitterness. When these emotions and difficulties arise in us, we are choosing to lean on our own strength and not living in the reality that Jesus is alive. We might believe He is alive in our heads but we don’t believe it in our hearts. We have these emotions because what we really believe is that there is no hope, that we have to do it on our own, and if we are failing at something, then there is no way out. Continue Reading…
Jesus preparing to die: Give up everything
You can tell what’s important to a person by what they do when they know they are going to die. As we prepare for Passion Week and spend a week reflecting on what Jesus did I wondered, what is it that Jesus did before he entered Jerusalem during His last week? One key story that is told in the Gospels, right before Jesus declares to the disciples that He is heading to Jerusalem, is the story of the Rich Young Ruler.
Luke 18:18 The rich ruler asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by telling him he must keep the commandments. The rich ruler tells Jesus he has kept them all. Then Jesus says, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Then the rich ruler became sad because he was so rich and did not want to let go of his material possessions. Continue Reading…
Focusing on your dream
Do you have a dream that you are passionate about? Is there something that you would love to accomplish? Where are you at in that process? Have you pursued your dream at all? The bible gives us incredible principles for pursuing our dreams.
Paul talks about His goal and where he is at with it in Philippians 3:12-14:
“12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Continue Reading…
Ash Wednesday
Today is Ash Wednesday. I was reminded of that fact this morning when we were at the train station. There was a pastor at the train station giving out “Ashes on the go”. Many people took advantage of it, including myself. Millions of Americans, both Catholic and Protestant, will attend an Ash Wednesday service. Some people choose not to observe Ash Wednesday because of some negative connotations surrounding it. There are many church traditions associated with this day, some good and some not so good. But Ash Wednesday is a tradition that can be easily redeemed. Continue Reading…
Misleading Feelings
One of the most influential, life changing truths I’ve ever heard is that you cannot trust your feelings and emotions. I only became aware of this recently, a few short months ago. Before then, I was someone who always went by what I was feeling. I had the mentality that if something didn’t feel “right”, then it must not be what’s meant to be. The fact that feelings can lie was an earth shattering revelation for me. Continue Reading…
Stuff Element Church Needs to Know!!!!!
We had an incredible launch service this past Sunday. We saw hundreds of people come through our doors and some heard the Gospel for the first time. We had 4 people commit to follow Jesus for the first time! God is truly on the move and if you haven’t jumped on the train God has us on, you really should hurry up and get on! He is moving and it is already powerful. I can’t wait to see what he does next!
I have some things that everyone at Element needs to know about:
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Acts 28 – Final Words
In this final chapter of Acts, we first find Paul on the shores of Malta. Paul is bitten by a viper, and the Islanders think Paul is going to die. Therefore, they conclude that their goddess, “Justice” must be angry with him. To their surprise Paul does not suffer at all from the bite, so they think Paul is a god.
These are obviously a very superstitious group of people. For them the snake bite had to mean something. So, they sway very quickly from thinking Paul’s a murderer doomed by their goddess, to thinking Paul himself is a god. I always find it interesting that the passage doesn’t say that Paul corrected them or preached the gospel? We don’t really know what he said to them. All we know is, he healed the chief of their Island and all of the sick people on the island as well.
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Acts 27 – Shipwrecked
Have you ever been in a situation or circumstance that seemed hopeless? Does thinking about the future scare you? Have you ever found yourself wondering where God is and why He let something so bad happen to you? If you answered yes, I can tell you, you are not alone. In Acts 27, Paul was in what seemed to be an extremely hopeless situation. An innocent man and yet a prisoner (for sharing his faith), on his way to stand trial in front of Ceasar in Rome, on a ship that was caught in a storm, for what probably seemed like an eternity, with 276 other people (verse 37) who were probably all panicking. Sound like a hopeless situation to you? It does to me… Continue Reading…