The longer I live the more I become convinced that all of life is really about one thing, relationships. Some of us are more relationally oriented and some of us are more task oriented, but at the end of the day what gives it all meaning is the relationships we have with the people around us. Ultimately, as those trusting in Christ, what gives all of life meaning is our relationship with Christ. That is why the  Scriptures are so clear on (more…)

I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I was there.  On Thanksgiving night, I was among the masses at Walmart having one of the most horrific experiences of my adult life.  A simple trip to take advantage of a few good deals became a hard-won spiritual lesson on the dangers of materialism.  After watching people argue over a limited number of toys, trample others for electronics, and threaten each other over cookware, it finally hit me while I was standing in the 47th place in a check-out line:  Christmas in America has devolved into a scene from a horror movie.

As soon as the tables are cleared, the warmth of Thanksgiving is traded for a swelling tide of material lust.  The wave of advertisements is like a toxic chemical spill creating rabid (more…)

“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.  But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Rev 2:2-4)  These are chilling words.  You can stand against evil.  You can be very sound in your doctrine.  You can guard the church from false teachers.  You can persevere in the face of persecution.  You can do all those things and still be guilty of not loving Christ.

On Sunday, I preached from Matthew 22:37 on what it means to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  If you remember, I stated that love, whether (more…)

If you have spent any time watching or reading the news lately, you have no doubt been bombarded with stories regarding the tragic situation at Penn State, where one of the former assistant football coaches has been charged with over 40 counts of sexual misconduct with children.  What makes this even more sad is that several high-ranking university officials were aware of what this man was doing, and they did not report him to the authorities or even reprimand him.

As a result of these events, institutions and churches all over the nation will need to consider again our policies for handling such misconduct.  Here at Morningview, we have already proceeded to update our policies, and everyone in leadership will be required to sign a statement saying they have (more…)

How many times have we heard people say, “Don’t pray for patience!  God will bring trials and sufferings into your life if you pray for patience.”  The problem with such a perspective is that it uses fear to deter us from seeking growth in an important area of our spiritual fruitfulness.  You remember the fruit of the spirit, don’t you: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23)  So patience is part of the fruit of regeneration.
I just preached on God’s amazing patience on Sunday, but as I write this article, I must confess that I often struggle (more…)

Let me start my article this week by giving you some very interesting information.  The following statistics are taken from the book “Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission” by Darrin Patrick and Mark Driscoll.

A typical church congregation in the United States draws an adult crowd that is 61% female and 39% male.  This gender gap is true in all age categories.  On any given Sunday, there are 13 million more women than men in America’s churches (this statistic includes married and single adults).

More than 90% of men say they believe in God, and 83% of those identify themselves as Christians, but only 33% of those attend church (more…)

All of your Christian life, you have had Sunday School teachers and Preachers teach you about the importance of daily prayer and Bible reading.  In fact, we have heard it so often, we can sometimes become numb to it, especially when we’re not doing it.  But there is another pitfall we can sometimes fall into — doing it for the wrong reasons.  If you think that daily prayer and Bible intake secures God’s love for you or earns you more of His blessings, you are wrong.  More generally, if you think that doing spiritual things (more…)

As we have worked our way through Matthew’s gospel, we have frequently encountered the concept of personal humility.  We are to be a humble people because Christ was a humble Savior.  We saw this reality again on Sunday morning in Matthew 21:1-11.  Jesus is the Perfect (more…)

Almost weekly, I take the time to read some news and blog sites to keep abreast of current events and current theological and ministerial perspectives.  I often come across material that is curious, controversial, or just down right concerning.  This week was no exception as I encountered an article entitled “3 Keys to Living the Life You Want” by Dr. Jean Houston, a “researcher in human capacities.”  In the article, she contends that we live in an unprecedented time where there is a “surging of the human spirit, a virtual (more…)

Andrew Fuller said of Genesis 1, “In the first page of this sacred book a child may learn more in an hour than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in thousands of years. There is a majestic sublimity in the introduction. No apology, preamble, or account of the writer: you are introduced at once into the very heart of things. No vain conjectures about what was before time, nor why things were (more…)