Everything. We spent the past few weeks walking through a series on “blind spots”, each of which qualify as disobedience. As we discussed, the Church in America today largely ignores or allows others to assume its God-given responsibilities to care for persecuted brothers and sisters, orphans, widows and the poor. The vision of church leaders became obstructed not unwittingly, but despite countless biblical examples and … Read More
Jesus Cares More about Widows and Single Moms than Your Church Does
No founder, leader or prophet of any other major world religion loves and values women as much as Jesus does. Throughout His ministry, He demonstrated His heart for widows and mothers… Defended Them – “They (religious leaders) devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” (Mark 12:40) Praised Them – “Calling … Read More
The Children’s Ministry Doesn’t Replace Ministry to Children
Churches see youth who enter the building as their responsibility, but pay little attention to neglected children in the community. Scriptures are clear that “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Jesus healed kids, fed kids, raised kids from the dead, blessed them, prayed … Read More
Why U.S. Churches Turn a Blind Eye to Persecuted Christians
Today we begin examining blind spots obstructing the view of churches to responsibilities clearly spelled out in scriptures. Pastors and members alike gloss over selected verses, not seeing problems outside the church as their responsibility. Instead, a topic Jesus and Paul considered among the foremost indicators of our faith and salvation – our love for our persecuted brothers and sisters … Read More
Try this 33 Word Prayer!
Each time you pray in the coming week, begin by saying, “Lord, I want my prayer to be in the name of Jesus. Please let all I pray be motivated by Jesus, consistent with the heart of Jesus, and for the glory of Jesus.” If you are not confident your prayer reflects the will and desire of Jesus, slow down … Read More
Your 1-1-1 Prayer
In the coming month, try doing a 1-1-1 Prayer. This is something Lee Strobel taught at the Organic Outreach Conference we hold at Shoreline Church. The idea is simple. You pray for a person who is not yet a follower of Jesus. Commit to intercede for them and ask God to soften their heart, open them to the love of … Read More
As We Pray For Others
As we pray for others, there are a number of important reminders the Bible gives us. These are some of the things we can miss if we are not attentive and sensitive to God’s direction as we pray. Here are five things I find helpful to remember. Each of these helps me keep my prayer life on track. Pray … Read More
Pray With Eyes Wide Open
When we pray with our life wide open, we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our behavior, change our direction, and shape our daily decisions. As we do this, opportunities to communicate with God come flooding in with surprising regularity. We no longer “try to pray” or “work at praying more.” Speaking to God and hearing from our Lord become … Read More
Don’t Let These Blind Spots Impair Your Church’s Vision
It was a grueling drive from Florida to Maryland and back over the past two weeks in summer holiday traffic. Fighting D.C. gridlock every day was no joy ride either. My nerves were frazzled dodging speeders who mistook the 495 Beltway for the Indianapolis Speedway and distracted drivers too busy texting to notice they’d drifted into the lane my car … Read More
Churches Shouldn’t Use Business Survival Tactics
When times get tough, most churches respond with the same survival tactics used by struggling businesses. Today, we explore the fifth and final reason why churches come down with a cold – the desire to Survive. The life cycle of a business begins with great hope and anticipation, a keen awareness of market needs and commitment to satisfying those needs. … Read More