Category: Life Issues
Love Covers a Multitude of Sins
People who overlook your inconsistencies and faults are usually the kind of people you call best friends. They are the ones who never judge you unfairly and are quick to accept who you really are. When you are around them, you never feel the need to...
Love – More!
You can never love too much. You can dote too much, cuddle too much, stare at a picture too much, and even fix more cookies than are acceptable, but you cannot love too much. Paul emphasized this to believers in Thessalonica: Now as to the love...
Looking in From the Outside
Have you met the Jones family? They’re fairly new to the church. In fact, they are always new to one church or another. They just can’t seem to find a place where they fit in. The churches always seem welcoming enough, and the doctrine and preaching...
I Wish You Hadn’t Said That! : Guidelines for Speaking Correctly in Small Groups
I know you’ve been there. It’s prayer request time in your small group meeting and someone says something that makes you squirm. “I think we should all be praying for Jane. She’s been on my heart lately. She told me confidentially . . . “ “We...
How to Use Your Pastors for All They’re Worth
Do you take advantage of your pastors? Pastors (also called “elders” in Scripture) are assigned the role of leading the local church, and they are invested by God with the authority commensurate with this responsibility. History has taught us that following a leader can be frighteningly...
How to Encourage Your Pastor This Summer
Attendance, and unfortunately enthusiasm, is significantly lacking in most local churches during the summer months. Vacations, reunions, camps, and other activities take people out of town, leaving even the main worship service of the week with gaps in the pews wider than a dump truck. A...
How Do You Respond When Admonished?
As we pulled into one of the gates at the Atlanta airport, I knew I would miss my connecting flight. Nevertheless, I sprinted through one of the world’s largest airports to a gate that was a few terminals away, hoping that I could still make it....
Hospitality for Gospel Advance
I occasionally travel around the country in order to teach the Bible in various settings, typically staying in the home of a pastor or church members. Looking back over several years of these experiences, I can confidently say that joyous hospitality is a boon to my...
Helping Friends Who Receive The Call We All Dread
It’s happened to all of us. We get a call or an email letting us know that someone we love has a family member in the hospital in serious condition, and we want to help. Our hearts immediately turn to prayer, but along with that, we...
Guaranteed Ways to Make Your Pastor Rejoice
Are you the kind of church member who makes your pastor’s ministry a joy? (Hebrews 13:17) Do you esteem in love the pastors that God has put over you? (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) Do you honor those elders who “work hard at preaching and teaching?” (1 Timothy...
