People today are quick to complain about anything they feel is “offensive.” We no longer engage in sincere debate about different views or opinions. Instead, we just throw out the “I’m offended bomb.” This is like the guy who throws out “grenade” hand sign in a game of paper-rock-scissors. It doesn’t matter if you play…

I want people to accept the good news about Jesus. I also want people to share the good news about Jesus. However, before either of those things can happen, people have to understand the good news about Jesus. Many have set out to define and explain the good news about Jesus. In my opinion, none has done better than JI Packer.…

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13) In the United States,…

Frustration. I think that word describes many Christians who live in the United States in 2016. Some are frustrated by a government that promotes values at odds with historic, orthodox Christianity. Others are frustrated by a culture that is increasingly disinterested in organized religion of any kind. Others are frustrated by a growing inability for…

Recently I traveled to Cordoba, Argentina with a ministry called Reaching and Teaching. Our focus was training local pastors who have limited access to theological training. The trip was my first to Argentina and my first with Reaching and Teaching. It was a phenomenal week of ministry. During the trip I was reminded of several…

I’ve been a pastor for ten years. One of the trickiest issues I’ve had to deal with is the salvation and baptism of children. I wish there were clear-cut, black-and-white, cut-and-dried rules for knowing when a child has truly trusted Christ and is ready for baptism. Ten years in as a pastor, I’m still looking…

Recently I shared a few thoughts about the salvation and baptism of children. As a follow up, I want to share the process we use to prepare children for baptism at Immanuel. Before I explain our process, let me offer two disclaimers. First, we recognize every situation is different, and every child is different. We try to be…

Recently I wrote a post called “A Pastor’s Take on Short Term Mission Teams.” In that post I talked about “how” to do short term missions. This week, I’m writing about “why” your church should participate in short term missions. When done wisely, sending short term mission teams can be a great blessing to your church. Here…

It’s Wednesday, which means tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. Most folks try to spend the day with family. Often, we end up sharing a meal with people we only see several times a year or less. Of course, it’s a great opportunity to catch up and visit. But it’s also a great opportunity for conflict. Politics, football, even religion…

There are plenty of things I love about my church. One of the things I love most is the passion our church has for missions. God has filled our church with a passion for “going,” In large part, that passion has been passed to our people through the leadership of our missions pastor, Chris Harrington.…

I know we live in a sound-bite age where words are constantly ripped from their original context. I also know there’s danger in trying to reduce a person or a book or an idea down to one simple statement. Nevertheless, some quotes stick with us and shape the way we think because they provide a memorable…

Lately our church has seen many adults come to faith in Jesus for the very first time. Some of these have attended church for years, and they just recently understood the gospel for the first time. Others are brand new to church life, and they just recently heard the gospel for the first time. As I’ve watched these new believers take…

“Testimony” is Christian cliche for the story of how you met Jesus. Whether you realize it or not, if you’ve met Jesus, you have a testimony. Throughout my life I’ve heard people say, “Anyone can share their testimony! It’s easy!” I agree that every Christian has a story of how they met Jesus, and I agree…

Sin has a way of shrinking our lives down to the size of our life. Our bent toward self leads us to spend most of our time thinking about ourselves. We forget that the world is a big place. We forget that God is doing more in the world than what he is doing in…

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about short term mission teams. Our church just sent a team of 43 people to Kenya. Some went for two weeks. Some went for the first week. Some went for the second week. This was not our first trip to Kenya, and we are constantly trying to make our…

This month our church will send a team of 43 on a short term mission trip to Kenya. 15 will go one week, 16 will go the next week, and 12 will stay both weeks. As a pastor, I’m excited and anxious about this trip. Excited about what God might go through and in a team…

On Wednesday nights at Immanuel we spent time studying through the Bible, one book at a time (you can listen to most of these messages online at our Podbean site). Colossians was number 51 of 66. As I read through the letter I was struck by how Paul described his own ministry. In particular, the following 8…

In sermon preparation this week I came to the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-8). I love the way Jesus handled this evangelistic encounter. Notice how Jesus handled this rich young ruler who came with important spiritual questions:   Jesus responded to his question with a question. Clearly…

Yesterday at Immanuel we finished interviewing folks who applied for our 2016 mission trip to Kenya. All total, we will take 44 people on three teams. One team will stay two weeks. One team will stay week one. One team will stay week two. Of the 44 total, 26 have been on an international mission…