Monday, July 28, 2014

Parenting Question: Tell me your thoughts on church.

If we're seeking to raise our kids to follow Jesus, it is super important that they understand and value the church.

The church.  That alone could be the topic of books upon books (and it is actually).  But what we need to talk with our kids about doesn't need to be too complicated.  We just need to open the dialogue and get their thoughts for starters.  Here are some questions that can be helpful in that.

Do you like where we attend church gatherings?
What do you think about it?
What would you do to improve it?
When you grow up, what sort of church will you connect with?
Is our home church helping you follow Jesus?  If yes, how? If not, what can we do to change that?

I've blogged on the church a little before if you're interested.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Shop Like Jesus Verses

I've blogged about What Would Jesus Buy before and I hope to do so more in the future.  This post is a Scripture reference guide to any verses that relate to the topic.

Proverbs 21:3; 21:15, 22:16, 22-23, 24:11-12

Proverbs 31:8-9:  Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. 

Zechariah 7:9-10: This is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.

James 5:1-6; Verse 4: For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Romans 13:7

1 Timothy 6:17-19

If you know of any other verses at that fit this category, please reply or comment.

Monday, July 14, 2014


If you're in a full or busy time of life, sometimes the best things you can do for yourself are also the really simple ones.

  • Get to bed on time.
  • Sleep in.  (You might not get to sleep in until noon, but if it's a busy season of life, going to bed 30 minutes early and sleeping 20 minutes later can go a long way.)
  • Eat healthy.  Lay off the sugar.  Limit caffeine.  Eat a few fruits and veggies (Who am I, your mom?)
You might do these things and still be stressed, but I think simple things help more than many of us want to admit.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Expository Topical Sermons

I should be honest up front that I probably have a tendency to over analyze sermons.  If we're listening to someone share thoughts from God's word we should seek to get something out of it.  We can probably all improve in that.

The thing I've noticed is, despite expository sermons being the mainstay of evangelical church services, most of them actually end up having a topical focus anyway.

Let's define a few terms: Expository (to me) means taking a passage of Scripture and explaining what it says, what it means, and how we should live because of it.
Topical is taking a topic and explaining what the Bible says about it and how we should live because of it.

I personally am perfectly okay with either type of sermon, but often the expository sermon gets lifted up as "better" because it sticks to Scripture and there's less chance of coming up with a message that isn't quite true.

What I notice though, is that many expository sermons end up being topical.  The speaker reads the passage, makes a few comments on it in general, and then picks a topic from it and builds a whole sermon around that topic.

Nothing wrong with it, just an observation.