Do we pray right? (Mt 6:9)
The Lord’s Prayer:Introduction (Matthew 6:9) My dad used to tuck me into bed saying the Lord’s Prayer. We used to chant it each Sunday morning at the church we attended. Never in this time did I have a clue what Jesus was teaching in this prayer. I just repeated it as if it were a […]
Does God Want Us to Be Rich?
Monetary wealth is an enormously popular topic in the Church. It has very real power to change this world and affect people and wealth is one of the most popular topics in the Bible. There are two very prevalent extreme views on whether or not God desires for His children to be wealthy. I think […]
Wrap Up: Mission Trip Excerpt
Last Day (Reynosa, Mexico – June, 2007) Allow me to offer a few global accomplishments for this mission trip. As I said, the biggest thing to happen was the growth of each one of us. We came to help change the lives of the Mexicans there, but God wanted to perform deeper work in each […]
Does God want us to have religion? (Mt 6:1-18)
Matthew 6:1-18 On Friday, Jesus was teaching us how we will interact in the world when we have been transformed by the Holy Spirit. Today, we’ll begin to discuss how He tells us to accomplish this with an overview of the religious life of His day (which is not so different from what is common […]
Quick – Which Path will You Choose: Hard/Easy or Easy/Hard
There are two roads to walk down in the daily decisions that we make. We are constantly confronted with option of taking the easy way, which requires less of us at that time. Or we can take the more challenging route when confronting the decision ahead. Most people go about life choosing the easy way. […]
Is the Law inside you? (Mt 5:17-48)
Matthew 5:17-48 Yesterday we finished discussing the heart attitude we must have to approach God. Please read the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount before reading this if you have not. It’s important that you understand Jesus is not talking about Salvation in this topic which is another subject. Here, Jesus is teaching us […]
Travail: Mission Trip Excerpt
THURSDAY (Reynosa, Mexico – June, 2007) Our last morning, during ATL, God directed me to Covering Prayer. I asked why and Linda came to mind. David had just told us that the other group was not able to go that morning, so there would be another chance. Thus, Linda would be able to give her […]
You are the son of God, You are the light of the world (Mt 5:6-16)
Matthew 5:6-16 Let’s continue Jesus’ teaching on what is necessary to approach God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have not, please read the introduction to this section before reading further. Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God.” A peacemaker is one who brings unity […]
Ownership vs Stewardship
To own something is to enjoy sovereignty or dominion over something. In modern terms, to own something is to enjoy full rights over it. I’ve written before that “knowing” something comes from “doing” that thing, not from simply thinking about it. Let’s apply this concept towards ownership of an asset versus stewardship of that asset. […]
Jesus wants the desperate and the humble (Mt 5:1-5)
Matthew 5:1-5 Yesterday, we gave an overview of the Sermon on the Mount; today we kick off with the Beatitudes, or blessings by God. Please read yesterday’s overview before reading any further. How does one become blessed by God? Jesus shows us below. It’s important to note that Jesus had been in a large crowd. […]