Jesus, The Greatest of All Time
Jesus invites you to follow him into a whole new life, a new path. That’s what you do when you follow someone. You don’t go down your path anymore, but…
Jesus invites you to follow him into a whole new life, a new path. That’s what you do when you follow someone. You don’t go down your path anymore, but…
Jeff Jones and Carey Nieuwhof talk about what the community really thinks about your church, and what church leaders can learn from Domino’s Pizza and other re-branding campaigns. www.careynieuwhof.com.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths…
Modern Family “Setting the Tone” Jeff Jones, Senior Pastor 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 For every one of us here, we want to help those we love flourish in life, not hinder…
Many people tell me that they want wisdom for decisions, as a lot of people are making really big decisions in life. We’ve all heard of the great resignation, as…
Let’s talk about sharing our faith at work. The big point of our series is that our work itself matters to God and is part of his creation and redemption…
In this sermon series, “Tell Me What You Want,” we learn that God sees and cares about our brokenness, hurt, and need. He invites us to turn to Him for…
What do you do when life gets confusing and hard? Or when things don’t seem to fit into a bigger, better plan? Joseph, the father of Jesus, wrestled with those…
It’s been a turbulent season. What has caused some to stay anchored during the storms and stresses of life, while others have lost their bearings under the same conditions? It…
Gideon doubted God’s charge to deliver Israel, but we learn how God made him into a judge, a warrior, and a man of faith. Preached at Chase Oak Church. Plano,…
What does the Bible teach about political issues from both party sides? How do we understand our behavior as believers and our responsibility as citizens. God has a lot to…
The 3 P’s: Presence, Prayer, Practical Help are just the few ways you can be there for others. But more important than coming up with the 3 p’s for a…
We all know how easy it is for friends to show up when times are good. But, all of us need people in our lives that show up and who…
Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry. He lived and interacted with others at the speed of walking. He had time for people. He was relaxed. However, for most…
How to Discuss Racial Injustice In moments of crisis and conflict, we often wonder, “What can I do?” and, “How do we talk about this?” It can be hard to…
Our Psalm today, 88, is probably the darkest of all of them, and therefore to our ears, it will feel like the strangest worship song ever. But obviously it is…
The last thing we want someone to say about us is that we are “super needy.” We want to be independent, self-sufficient, strong individuals. The idea of needing people and…
These are hard days for minorities. I have also asked several African American friends what it’s like to see so much tension and a rise in racial profiling and violence.…
Oftentimes, it feels like marriage is an expectation society has for each of us—as if marriage will make our lives complete. What happens when marriage doesn’t come quickly for us?…
King Solomon was the richest, wisest man who ever lived, and yet his greedy, proud, lusty heart poisoned his abundant life. The king who had everything developed a divided heart…
Do you remember when you first heard the “sex talk”? I had the “sex talk” with both of my boys. Each responded in the same way. They interrupted me and…
This study is a comprehensive look at a difficult topic. Please read the article in its entirety. Although this article is specifically about homosexuality, all iterations of LGBTQ+ issues…
We are sexual beings. This sermon from Esther clarifies what the Bible teaches about sexuality, and examination of Bible wisdom on how we, as Christ-followers should relate to a culture…
Nobody gets married planning to have an affair. I’ve never done a wedding where the bride or groom is checking out other guys or girls at the wedding, trying to…
What is the secret to life, according to Solomon: the fear of God. Fear is not terror. Rather it means, “I am going to bend to God’s better way. I…
Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s goodness and to twist His words. In doing so, we also are tripped up by his lies and doubts. Remember, your sin will find…
To set the tone in your home, be sure you change the rules, believe the best, and keep on loving. Defy logic. Defy gravity. Defy entropy. Let Paul’s “love chapter”…
The beautiful love poem of Solomon to his bride teaches much about the passion, permanence, power and procreative purpose of marriage. Marriage is a holy covenant based on sacrifice and…
Whether you are a control freak like Augustus, panicking because your plans aren’t coming together like you had hoped, or whether you are confused by life circumstances that don’t make…
What if your clock ran out today? Time is an earnest laborer, precision is his neighbor. Be wise, be aware of your season of life. Invest in your key priorities.…
In the series “So Worth It,” describing life lessons learned from the bride and groom in the book of Song of Solomon, we discover that there is trouble in paradise.…
Elisha had a defining moment with Elijah when Elijah asked him to leave his life as a farmer and to follow him. We all have defining moments in our lives.…
The prophet Elijah experienced great victories and great trials in his life. Calling fire down from heaven was a miraculous triumph. But lonely days of starvation at the Brook Kerith,…
True freedom doesn’t come from doing what we want to do but from living out the will of God, then let’s choose to be people who submit to God, who…
Why shouldn’t we worry? Because if we knew the big picture like Jesus does, we’d realize that worry is not rational. God really has promised to take care of us,…
Keys to a genuine love relationship requires that we speak the truth in love and authentic humility, talk directly to the person rather than about the person and do so…
When you are in a difficult relationship, you have an opportunity to better understand where your identity and strength come from, and once you do, you realize that they can’t…
Paul’s model for handling conflict is outlined in Ephesians 4. Speak the truth in a loving way. Deal with the offense quickly. Fight fair. Remember the goal.
Deepening your relationship with someone else includes sharing hurts, revealing true feelings, confessing failures, acknowledging weaknesses, expressing doubts and asking for help and prayer.
Jeff Jones and Joy Cruse, mother of Conner Cruse teach on “All things work together for good to those who love God.” All things happen to Christians. God is the…
What does Jesus teach about politics? Remember our primary identity and allegiance as God’s people. Be good citizens of the state. Influence the common good by being a positive part…
We must watch for the “danger of the drift” or slowly falling away from God. What is the power of hidden sin? It kills good judgment causing a downward spiral…
Jesus was unrecognizable to his world because He had a simple birth to a poor family, a scary sojourn in a foreign land and a quiet upbringing in an obscure…
Having money to spend is power and the way we spend it impacts people’s lives. The prophet Micah teaches that we must live a life in submission to God’s will,…
Keys to overcoming temptations, according to James, are taking responsibility for one’s actions, avoiding deception, changing direction, getting help. The four stages of temptation are desire, deception, disobedience and death.
Hebrews 12 is a marvelous guideline to lovingly discipline and mentor your children. Always discipline your kids with the big purpose in mind. Don’t fall into traps of poor discipline…
Getting out of debt takes discipline, commitment and intensity. Work at a plan to remove debt. Stop borrowing money, live within your means, set aside an emergency fund, pay off…
Gideon is a man with a major inferiority complex, as we learn right away. We see early in the story that he considers himself a loser of all losers. He…
Samson: what a sad end to such a promising start! He had taken for granted all that he had going for him, and used it only for himself. He never…
Ignorance, especially passionate ignorance is a dangerous thing. Jephthah made a tragic mistake by making a vow God never asked him to make. He killed his daughter in the process.…
In the beginning God designed man to be decision-makers, creators, givers and contributors. Work was joy until man rebelled against God, his boss. Redeem work God’s way by cultivating an…
Deborah was both a prophetess and a civic judge, one of the few godly leaders from the book of Judges. Her boldness and faith encourages us to pray big, dream…
The local church is a powerful force to be reckoned with as they show together, grow together and go together. Engaging the local church is more significant than we realize.…
Grace leaves no room for superiority. Grace makes Christianity the most inclusive religion in the world. Jesus’ claim requires faith, and so does relativism. Our job as Christ-followers is to…
The will of God often sends us to meet needs and into danger. It is hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to…
Are Christians narrow-minded? Since Christianity is about God’s grace, it is the most inclusive religion in the world. However, because of that same grace, we have ho room to feel…
Joseph’s model for reconciling with his brothers and father are illustrated in this story. To reconcile a broken relationship, your much rebuild trust with truth, repentance and time.
God make us all to be dreamers, and He placed within us deep desires to achieve, to express uniqueness and to make a contribution. Joseph was a dreamer-one whose dreams…
The parable of the prodigal son illustrates the heart of God for His wayward children. The younger brother broke all the rules, felt he didn’t deserve his father’s love and…
Adonijah, King David’s heir-apparent, misused his power in destructive ways. Each of us has the power of position and and privilege to further the cause of Christ.
Amnon abused the trust that his half-sister Tamar had given him, and committed incest with her. He not only ruined her life, but irreparably scarred the household of David.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In our culture, that sounds crazy, and is at minimum something…
If I am really going to become more like Christ, it means that we would change the way we do marriage and become less self-oriented and more other-focused. It means…
Jesus delivered the Gadarene demoniac from a life of torment and desolation. Instead of rejoicing over Jesus’ power and the man’s deliverance, the Gadarenes were angry because they lost their…
If you think your trouble-filled life is bad, this guy had it worse. Separated from people, a crazed maniac, in constant torment, crying out and cutting himself with stones to…
Paul teaches us that to discover God’s will we must ask for directions, consider God’s mission and our priorities, consult other godly people, stay close to God and be decisive.
With the power of spending money comes great opportunity and great responsibility. Consider three keys to giving more generously: live simply, spend conscientiously and buy ethically.
Our culture is so busy we are quickly replacing face to face time with texting, tweeting, voice mail, email and other forms of technology. Especially at Christmas, let’s make sure we give…
It is hard for a rich person to be godly, but not impossible. According to Agur’s prayer in Proverbs 30, we should avoid traps of distraction, arrogance and worry. If…
Rather than spending our lives serving money, we should bring all we have, including our money, to God who is our master. After all, we are managing His money. Giving,…
Christian leaders or managers must have uncompromising character, clear direction and expectations, must give honest feedback and provide others opportunities to serve and grow in their areas of gifting. Leaders…
Our work is worship and we should bring our best to all of it as a response to the work God has already done for us. We must strive to…
Even though many of us have lost our passion to do justice, God has not. To God, the presence of injustice is not a social issue, but a spiritual one.…
Sometimes we are so selfish that we fail to see the needs of the lost. Blinded by his own comfort zone, Jonah refuses to extend to others what God has…
We are God’s only marketing strategy, valued and entrusted with the gospel to shed the light of His glory and character on a world in darkness. We must be salt…
Paul teaches us to be as focused as athletes with our eyes on the prize. What is our goal as believers? To greet, extend friendship, serve and share our story…
Jesus teaches us that when we live in fear we sacrifice the long term for the short term, we lose perspective and we fail to invest our lives fully in…
God has given us several biblical principles for managing our finances: choosing to live within our means, giving the first portion of our income to God and saving for the…
We live in a society that is “consumed with consumerism.” The consumption road leads to destruction, but contentment deepens our spiritual lives.
Hell is an eternal place of torment and spiritual darkness with varying degrees of punishment based on the severity of a person’s sins. Hell is real, but we can avoid…
When we die, do we immediately go to heaven? Do we have to go through the tribulation? Are there animals in heaven? These and other intriguing questions are addressed by…
Heaven is a re-made earth, life as it was meant to be lived. Our bodies will be glorious, imperishable, powerful and spiritual. With our heavenly bodies, we will find joy…
God’s perfect world is broken because of man’s sin. Relationships are dysfunctional, cultures are oppressed, God is no longer in constant communion with man. God promises redemption and restoration through…
What we believe matters, because beliefs are like seeds that bear fruit. Bad seeds bear bad fruit. Paul teaches that if we don’t know the truth, we are easily deceived.
Jesus’ parable of the soils challenges us to allow God’s Word to penetrate our life, to count the cost of following Christ and to take steps to move forward on…