Boys and Girls Part 1
This past Sunday, I started a series of messages at Lafayette Community Church entitled “Born this Way” in which I intend to investigate the number of different Bible passages on gender issues.
The biggest problem for me was that for most of the week, I was wrestling with how to tackle the message. You see, there are a lot of controversial passages in the Bible when it comes to gender issues, and . . .
Biblical Buoys in the Creation Science Debate
Occasionally the issue of creation and evolution rears its head in our community. No one that I know questions the issue of micro-evolution–the subtle changes over time within a particular species. Evolutionists see that as the bedrock of their system; creationists view it as evidence of a wise designer who built into His creatures the ability to adapt to a changing environment. But micro-ev . . .
We Cried Out and You Answered!
Do you remember where Faith was nearly one year ago (Feb 2011) in regard to cornerstone initiative #1 from our strategic plan—the establishment of a student ministry and counseling center at Purdue?
- After two years of searching, we had exhausted our known options.
- After two years of working, we had not secured any viable land.
- After two years of effort, we were no closer than when we started.
. . .
23 Year Old Brain, 31 Year Old Body
I’m an idiot.
I just recently signed up for an event called Tough Mudder. It’s basically 12 miles of obstacles designed by British special forces. The estimated completion time is 3 hours. I’m really not quite sure why I signed up. As I looked at the pictures and videos from past and current Tough Mudder events, I must have thought for a moment that I was young again; that my body could withstand . . .
Way to Go, Mr. Mayor
Great news for the home team. Alcoa announced yesterday that Lafayette, IN has been chosen for the site of a new $90 million aluminum lithium casting plant. Construction is slated to start in April. The plant should employ 75 people when it is fully operational by the end of 2014. While this news is tremendous in and of itself, what makes it especially astounding is that it comes on the . . .
The IMAX Bible
One time I walked into the wrong movie theater, where the movie I had paid to watch was already halfway through. A sea battle was ensuing with swords clashing and cannons blasting in surround sound. The audience gasped as they watched their beloved characters struggle to survive. As for me, I sat with cold indifference.
I didn’t care. I had missed the beginning.
Movies are meant to be viewed from . . .
Are Outreach and Discipleship Mutually Exclusive?
It’s no secret that Faith Church puts a significant amount of time, effort, and resources into outreach. We believe that the proclamation of the gospel–the good news about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the free gift of salvation available in Him–is at the very center of our mission. After men and women trust Christ as Savior and Lord, we encourage them to learn to li . . .
Cheers
State Farm Insurance Company has recently been using the theme song from the 80’s sit com Cheers to advertise its services on TV. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” is the title of the song. The claim implied by using the song seems very ambitious for an insurance company with its clients.
The original purpose of the song was to capture the atmosphere of a quaint bar in Boston called Cheers. . . .
Find Your Tebow
Few professional football players have created more buzz than Denver’s Tim Tebow. Since winning the starting quarterback position mid-season, Tebow has led the Broncos to four overtime victories including an incredible win this past Sunday night against the highly favored Pittsburg Steelers. In case you missed the game, it was the shortest overtime in NFL history because on the first play fr . . .
Should the Islamic Center be Approved?
Recently our commissioners approved a rezone request to allow the construction of an Islamic center in northwest Tippecanoe County. The project will still require a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) before construction can begin.
Some residents from our community expressed concern over this project, essentially suggesting that its approval was un-American. I think the po . . .
He Came
- Jesus came as Prophet to bring the Word of God to us.
- Jesus came as Priest to represent us to the Father.
- Jesus came as SON to bring us into God’s family
- Jesus came as Savior to take away our sin.
- Jesus came as King to receive our submission.
- to have 1-4 without 5 is pointless mercy
- to have 5 without 1-4 is Islamic legalism
- to have them all together is the beautiful harmony of grace
Top 10 Posts of 2011
Here are the top 10 posts of 2011, as determined by what you–our readers–viewed the most. For this top 10 list, we’re including posts from all of our blogs, so you’ll notice a couple of Faith Biblical Counseling posts in here as well. You can find our entire listing of blogs, as well as an aggregated feed of the latest posts, at http://blogs.faithlafayette.org.
10. Highway to Hell: A Question of C . . .
Vouchers Are An Educational Win-Win
Our community is blessed with many fine educators in our public school system. We are very fortunate to have such tremendous servants in our town. They deserve our profound respect, appreciation, and support.
That is precisely why I believe our present educational system has to change. The model that is currently in place, like so many other aspects of our government, is simply unsustainable . . .
The Church: Can you be a Christian without going to church?
This post is part of a series investigating the most important items of Christian doctrine. View all posts by clicking here or the DOGMA tag above.
This past Sunday, I ended our service by taking some live questions from the congregation, but I wasn’t able to address all the questions live. Therefore I’m tackling some of them through this blog.
Does this mean that you cannot be a Christian un . . .
The Church: Why Sundays?
This post is part of a series investigating the most important items of Christian doctrine. View all posts by clicking here or the DOGMA tag above.
This past Sunday, I ended our service by taking some live questions from the congregation, but I wasn’t able to address all the questions live. Therefore I’m tackling some of them through this blog.
If the church is the community of believers who . . .
Praying Like An Apostle: Joy, Love and What is Best
In our last post, we identified a number of excuses that we often use when prayer has not been a consistent habit. We addressed those individually, but it is helpful to have a big picture view that puts all of our excuses into perspective…even the new ones we haven’t yet developed.
Paul is a master at focusing on the big picture. He guides his readers to his source of joy, where his confidence li . . .
Two Girls + Public Affection + Public Transportation
This weekend another pastor and I were riding BART (public transportation) from the San Francisco airport to Walnut Creek, where we were speaking at a counseling conference. The train was quite full, and about 10 feet from where we were standing it appeared that two people had not seen each other in a very long time. We noticed the greeting between them (it was hard not to notice) and then we went . . .
Praying Like An Apostle, Part 3: Excuses, Excuses?
Review: After reading through 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, 1 Thessalonians3:9-13 and Colossians 1:9-14 what have your learned about Paul’s prayer habits, and how is it impacting yours?
After reading Paul’s prayers, I have learned that I need to change. Thanks to God’s words, I have some specific things I can change. Like…
- I can be more observant of signs of grace that reveal God working in people’s . . .
How Should You Respond to Children Who Don’t Obey God? Part 3
Parenting is included in the statement Jesus made when He said, “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We need our Lord’s strength, His wisdom, His presence, and His blessings in the parenting process. Accomplishing this important responsibility without the help from Jesus is absolutely impossible. In this final post about responding to children who continue to make sinful choices (se . . .
“Fitting In” – A Sense of Belonging Greater Than the World Can Offer
From elementary school, through junior high, high school, college and beyond – how many times have you heard or thought, “I just don’t fit in”.
Everyone is “Out”
While this is a universal problem, it appears to be accentuated among women. Over the years in working with college students, we’ve noticed a strange phenomenon…everyone is “out”! We frequently hear the concern raised . . .
