One of the fundamental problems of life is, ironically, death. Every religion, every philosophical school of thought, every grand enterprise of humanity has wrestled with the notion that - at some point - life ceases to be alive. So what can we do about it?

Following Jesus provides a promise that answers that question to the full, and accepting the promise is the best, most foundational decision we can make. That promise - the promise of eternal life - provides us with all that we need to find freedom from death, the enemy of humanity.

#Sountracks #Promises #EternalLife #NoFearOfDeath

What do you do when something is hard? When something that should be easy takes too much effort? When you’ve given it a go, but it seems like no progress has been made? Well, if you’re like most of humanity … you’ll tend to quit. In fact, the J-Curve theory of behavioral change states that when we try to do something like form a new, healthy habit, things will usually get worse before we see the benefit of that change.

And unfortunately, most people tend to quit the new direction soon after the “worse” begins. If we want to see the benefit of the new, we have to bear through the pain that accompanies it - not something most of us are particularly good at doing. The same is true for us as we try to grow in our practice of prayer. It is usually harder at first. We often fail more than we succeed in our plans. But in the end (if we DO bear through it), the payoff is a richness of relationship with God that defies description.

#PrayFirst #Persistence #Patience #Piety #Fasting

There are so many great things in life that we have good intentions to do, but we often fail to make them a regular part of our lives - why is this? In short, because we are ALL human. Our bodies aren't perfect. Our minds aren't perfect. Our world isn’t perfect. And all our imperfections colliding with all the imperfections of others stewing in the cauldron of the world's imperfections means that good intentions are not enough.

We've spent a couple of weeks digging into the nature of prayer on Sunday mornings, but this week we'll push into what it means to move beyond merely recognizing the merits of prayer or simply wanting to pray more. We'll discover that intention must meet action if we ever want to really live a PRAY FIRST kind of life. .

#PrayFirst #Plan #Place #Practice

Many of us often approach prayer as carefully-curated, randomly-collected, or desperately-uttered words spoken into the void in the hope that they might somehow affect the REAL world, though they be nothing more than ritual in practice to us. But this is not the truth, the reality, the essence of prayer. Prayer is not empty phrases bandied to the darkness. Prayer is not feeble liturgy badly remembered. Prayer is not about vainly hoping that I just get what I want because I want it so desperately, not really believing that it will make a difference in the end. In fact, it is SO much more! Prayer has a purpose. Prayer has power. And prayer is with and through and for and by and in and about and to and from the most beautiful, glorious, dynamic person in the cosmos.

#PrayFirst #Purpose #Person #Power

Who is the most important person in your life? Often, we respond with the name of a spouses, a parent, a sibling, or a friend. These are people who we know and and who know us. These are those who add value to our lives and with whom we share deep connection & relationship. Now imagine that you never, ever spoke to them - you didn't call or write or message. In fact, imagine you went over to their house, looked through their photo albums and drank their coffee, but didn't talk to them. Imagine further that you sat and stared at them, read their autobiography in front of them, and even engaged in conversation with others in the house about them, but actually failed to speak to them as they tried to engage you in conversation.

Pretty awkward and weird, right? And yet this is often how we approach conversing with God. We'll talk about Him, attend regular gatherings at His house, even talk to others ABOUT Him, yet fail to enter the conversation He is desperately trying to have with us - we're talking about prayer. We've mystified it, complicated it, sacramentalized it, and even feared it. But - while it IS a most holy endeavor - it was never intended to be any of this. Prayer may be something that has little / no place in your life, it might be something that is a regular part of your everyday life, or it might be something in between - regardless, this will be a time to breathe fresh life into what prayer is for you!

#PrayFirst #Perspective #Position #Priority

What do you think of when you hear the word celebrate? In our culture, probably pictures of birthdays, weddings, holidays, and anniversaries spring to mind - times when people gathered to showcase the value & impact of something important to them. The key to any celebration is just that - pointing out the value of someone or something and then making some kind of to-do about it. For Jesus-followers, it's imperative that we remember to celebrate the One of utmost value & importance, the Savior who paid our debt and granted us abundant life today & for all eternity. Today we celebrate the God who loves us, worshiping in some unique ways. Let's face it - the best celebrations we can remember invariably include the people closest to us gathering together!

#Celebration #CelebrationSunday #Baptism

One of the things you've probably heard more than once in your life is the phrase, "You're not the boss of me!" And yet, as much as we bucked against others controlling us, in all our bluster for being in control of ourselves, we often demonstrate an incredible lack of self-control. We to wrench control away from those who may have our best interests at heart (or maybe don’t!) in the guise of self-mastery, and we readily give control of ourselves to many other things that seek to destroy both body & soul. We’re not controlling ourselves … we’re just exchanging one master for another.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #selfCONTROL #HarderThanItLooks #TamingTheBeastWithin

There are various virtues that many of us aspire to obtain or develop. Courage, determination, justice, wisdom, and the like all usually top the list. However, one of the virtues that is integral to the Christian life is often forgotten - or even derided. If we're really honest, not many of us aspire to be the gentlest person we know.

But at the same time, we want God (and others!) to be gentle with us. We want mercy, want a soft word rather than a harsh one, want comfort when we're hurting. So why is it that we yearn for this gentleness while being reluctant to pursue it in our lives? And if we're really, really honest, we might even admit that we look down when others are gentle with those who we've deemed worthy of the hammer.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #GENTLENESS #Humble #StrongHandsSoftTouch

Faith is a key component of any religious tradition, especially for those who see to follow after Jesus. But what do we mean by faith? Do we mean blind, reckless belief? Do we mean strict adherence to moral codes? Or do we mean some kind of amorphous, unnamed feeling of religiosity that wells up within us at different times? The true nature of faith touches into each of these categories, but centers on something much deeper - or, rather, it should. Healthy faith cannot occur in a vacuum. While deeply personal, it is never individualistic.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #FAITHFULNESS #SeenBeforeHeard #FeltBeforeEmbraced

Am I good enough? It may be an awkward question, especially out of context, but it's one that most of us wrestle with more often than we might like to admit - we wrestle with thoughts of our performance, worth, value, and significance, constantly evaluating (even if not consciously) if we've made the mark.

For the Jesus-following person - that's where real hope can spring forth. Jesus offers to make us good enough, not based on our merits, but on His. He offers HIS goodness to us, securing our forever home with God on HIS credentials. For us, it's a simple act of faith that unlocks eternity for us.

And yet, the life of a Christian is also one that is to be radically marked by goodness on our part, a response to His goodness. For us, the question changes from How can I be good enough? to How can I share the goodness of Jesus with others since He's given me His own?

#FruitOfTheSpirit #GOONESS #NeverEnough #AlreadyEnough

If you've ever raised kids (or been responsible for them for more than 5 minutes), you've also said something akin to "Be nice to your sister!" many, many times over. It's a twofold theological reality that spills over into our everyday lives: 1) humanity really IS broken by sin and 2) we innately know that treating others with kindness is something we should do simply because that is what any human deserves. Kindness (though nice) is hard to do and can be dangerous to us. And yet we're called to do that very thing - the hard work of kindness - and brave the dangers that accompany it.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #KINDNESS #MoreThanBeingNice

In each of our lives, it would probably be very safe to say that we all lack one particular thing, to one degree or another - patience. And it’s not because we don’t see the value in patience, but it’s because it’s so easy to lose it along the way of life. But what if patience itself wasn’t the thing to pursue, but rather the culmination of pursuing other virtues and practicing those? Maybe then we’d all find it a little easier to be patient in very impatient times.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #PATIENCE #VIRTUE

Across the vast expanse of human experience, from the moments just after the dawn of time through our very own days, humanity has found itself embroiled in chaos, destruction, and war, which makes us yearn for peace … but maybe peace is more than just the stopping of hostilities. And maybe - just maybe - we’re destined to be an integral part of the peace that our souls long for and that God decreed for us.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #PEACE #LIFE

It’s easy to think back to happy memories, to times when things are going well and we’re enjoying ourselves. Unfortunately, those memories and feelings can be oft so fleeting, overshadowed by the pain and struggle and weight of this life. But what if there was a way to transcend this vacillating roller-coaster between happiness and pain? And what if it were available to all of us, all the time?

#FruitOfTheSpirit #JOY # HOPE

What we do reflects - in one way or another - who we are and what we truly believe. Jesus Himself shared a parable where He taught us that we recognize what kind of tree something is by the fruit that it bears. In the Bible book of Galatians, we learn that the primary “fruit” in the life of a Jesus-follower is love. In fact, the truth is that we simply cannot be Christian if we do not love.

#FruitOfTheSpirit #LOVE

All of us will do something when our days of this life end … we will leave a legacy. We will be remembered in one way or another, regardless if we want to or not. So how will you choose to be remembered? How will you live today that impacts all the tomorrows that will follow you?

#ALLinTHEfamily #Legacy #LEAVINGaLEGACY #Family

While family is good and is designed to be good, life has taught us that family is often broken. To understand why this brokenness occurs - and what we can do about it - we need to look at what is broken all around us first. And the beauty in the midst of darkness is that (with God’s help) each of us holds the key to bringing light into those dark places.

#ALLinTHEfamily #BrokenFamilies #Broken #Brokenness #Family

Current US demographic statistics show that over 50% of adults (16 years and older) are single … the first time this has happened in our nation’s history. If this is so, why is it that we so rarely hear messages or programs geared towards this vast subset of the population. Today, Dennis Foreman speaks to this group as one of them … of which he’s been a part for the entirety of his life. Find out what it means that singleness can truly be a gift, even if it doesn’t look like it one the surface.

#ALLinTHEfamily #Singleness