Last weekend, thirty-three students participated in the 30 Hour Famine. We learned about hunger and poverty, served our church families and God’s Helping Hands, and raised over $2,300 to help Haiti earthquake victims (with some students still collecting).
During the weekend, we focused on the following passage from James:
What good is it, my brothers, if someone [...]

What does it look like to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit in your life?
I would argue that it’s much more than a change in behavior. Ultimately, it requires a change in your attitude and fundamental approach to life.
Let’s consider something that Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke:
“When the unclean spirit has gone out [...]

In preparation for this week’s 30 Hour Famine, I am sharing Isaiah 58 for our students to meditate on. I am encouraging them to read this Scripture throughout the week:
1“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2For [...]

I had a student pose a question to me. Here is the question:
Let’s say a person is weak in a certain area and they struggle with a temptation, but they remove themself from or avoid any situation that would cause them to stumble and give in. Does this make the person strong for not giving [...]

It’s so hard to be patient. We live in a culture that wants things now.
In the 1990’s, Burger King had an advertisement that said, “Your way right away!” That has become the mantra of our society today.
Rather than eat healthy and exercise, we want pills and surgery to make us skinny.
Rather than save money to [...]

Since I was asked to preach on “Marked with Patience” a few months ago, I have been surrounded by suffering. A girlfriend from high school was diagnosed with breast cancer and has been going through chemo treatments. An ex-fiancee just lost her mother to a battle with cancer. Today at a youth ministers’ meeting, one [...]

As I reflect on the inter-relationship of the image of God, vocation and the mission of the church, I see something significantly more encompassing and holistic than what the majority of churches and Christians typically embrace and embody.
While most church members would agree that being a Christian means “being a good person,” most would limit [...]