Pride, greed, and lust never have enough. This is one of many lessons we learn from Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. In Genesis 2:9, God creates “every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” The Creator gifts Adam and Eve a garden filled with beautiful fruit-bearing trees. These trees are … More Never Enough
Decide. The perpetual maybe, the angst and anxiety, the push-it-off, the come-back-later—these are not life. History is won, yes, in many ways, but never by those who won’t decide. “Can’t decide,” you say? No, ability isn’t the issue. You can. Decide. Weigh the options, then kill all but one. Kill them all. The death of … More Decide
Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen… 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen… the king made made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone (1 Kings 10:26–27). You’d think the narrator is describing a successful king. But he’s not. He’s describing a failure. How do we know? God’s earlier law: The king must not acquire many horses for … More Sometimes Success Isn’t
Today John Piper turns 74 years old. Four years ago, when I realized he was about to turn 70, I reflected on his influence in my life and shared 70 reasons I thank God for him. • • • • • Today—January 11, 2016—John Piper turns 70. I ‘met’ John Piper in 2000 when I … More Thank You, John Piper: 70 Reasons
Every day, we’re crawling toward Sunday. Because every seven days, the world over, the Christian church gathers to celebrate the life, death, resurrection, and soon return of Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Scripture and prayer, songs and sermons, confession and supplication, joy and lament, we haul our broken bodies and heavy souls back to the place … More Crawling to Sunday
Jesus warns Christians about sinfully judging each other (Matthew 7:1–5). But what happens when a spirit of judgment—whether silent or explicit—overtakes us? Here are twenty-two marks of a judgmental church. A judgmental church will be infected with pride. A judgmental church will be marred with conflict. A judgmental church will be controlled by fear. A … More 22 Marks of a Judgmental Church
The year is new; the last is done. Again it flew; the course is run. We start again; we set our gaze. As mortal men we plot our days. The pages pass; the story flies. The clock a class for all the wise.
We sure do want a lot out of life. By now your social media feeds have been filled with articles about New Year’s resolutions and 2020 goals—mind, body, and spirit; work, rest, and play; personal, professional, and relational. There are the optimists aiming high, and the pessimists decrying the overambitional impulses that leave people disappointed … More How to Prosper in All of Life: The Main Thing You Need to Do in 2020
How do you listen to a sermon that’s not about you? How can I benefit from a talk on anxiety if I’m not worried, marriage if I’m not married, or depression if I’m not down? I’m currently preaching through 1 Peter, and coming across some passages with specific target audiences—like Christian wives, many with non-Christian … More Six Reasons to Listen to Sermons That Aren’t About You
Our best loves are those we can’t fully explain: a flavor that grabs us, a partner who gets us, a place with roots in our heart. The Christmas season is obviously here, and while some feel more darkness than light during these days, many moments are filled with a warmth that can’t be measured. But … More Why We Love Christmas
Our morning services have been canceled due to a power outage. There are lots of weather-related outages across the city, and our provider is prioritizing emergency situations first. We hope to have power by the afternoon so we can hold an evening service, but we’ll see. This incident is just the latest in a long … More The Vision and the Battle
Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me; The changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see; I ask thee for a present mind intent on pleasing thee. I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do … More Guided Where I Go
The country has been riveted, conflicted, sorrowful, defiant, and divided as we’ve watched the Senate Judiciary Committee examine the formal allegations of sexual assault made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh is President Trump’s top pick for the Supreme Court opening left vacant by the June retirement … More Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh, and Something Greater than Solomon
Some people love change. Others hate it. For most of us, though, change is both a challenge and an adventure. There are many different kinds of change, of course. Some changes come in the natural progression of life, like moving from one grade to the next. Other changes come from leaders whose decisions impact our … More The Heart of Change: Four Emotions We Experience in Transition, and How We Can Respond
There’s nothing like coming home. Sunday we celebrated our first service back in our church building after being displaced for more than a year. For months this day had been circled on our calendars, and it didn’t disappoint. Doors opened at 9:00am, and people began flooding into the building. Twenty-eight inches of water in a … More Coming Home
It’s been 375 days since floodwaters first slid beneath the doors of our church building in west Houston. Twenty-eight inches later, the adventure had begun. It cost nearly $500,000 just to gut the first floor, and we lost at least $500,000 in contents. Reconstruction has lasted nine months, and the final cost—well beyond the initial … More Relaunching in Houston
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