Trading Faces: Your Identity
Can we choose our identity? Daniel Day Lewis is known as one of the most committed method actors of our time. When he takes on a role, he embodies the…
Can we choose our identity? Daniel Day Lewis is known as one of the most committed method actors of our time. When he takes on a role, he embodies the…
No matter how lost you may be, No matter how disoriented life has left you, No matter how long you’ve been wandering in the wilderness, despairing of ever finding your…
Our guest this week is Jonathan VerSchneider. He’s a college student at Villanova University, studying chemical engineering. Jonathan grew up surrounded by Christianity—his parents were Christians, he attended church regularly,…
Rejoicing always in the Lord (see Philippians 4:4) may seem unrealistic at times. But we must remember that this rejoicing is centered not in a passing circumstance but in a constant…
Today I wanted to share with you a foundational truth that every person needs to hear and be settled in. In a world that glorifies “self”… “selfies”… portraying allusions through…
I love the early mornings, surrounded by quietness and peace. A time when I can spend some special uninterrupted moments with the Lord. During this time I can always expect…
Have you ever walked into a room and felt out of place; like there was a chasm standing between you and everyone else? Maybe it was the way you dressed,…
We all have struggles: fear, self-image, managing money, addiction, loneliness – the list goes on and on. What if there was a new way to walk through our struggles? God…
Hurting someone because they hurt you doesn’t end the cycle. It perpetuates it. And it makes you look like the person you dislike. www.sermons.love. www.northpointchurch.com.
On October 2, 2020 I became a widow. My husband Gary’s death was not unexpected. For almost 17 months my husband had suffered a slow decline due to a…
You need some good news—as a human and as a leader. We all do. While 2020 was dominated by crisis, tragedy, division and disease (as this recap of the Top…
In our contentious times, battle lines are drawn based political philosophies, religious beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, financial status, age and sex. Answers to “what’s right” and “who’s best” dominate the topics…
Have you received devastating news? Divorce? Disillusionment over current events? Perhaps, like Job, everything in your life seems to be falling apart and you are just waiting for the other…
Conversations about race are hard, but they need to happen. How can we handle those talks—and our relationships, too—in a way that infuses them both with understanding and hope? Join…
Do you ever find yourself defining life by before and after the deep hurt? The horrific season. The conversation that stunned you. The shocking day of discovery. The divorce.…
Today, the need I see for Christian boldness is a little different. It’s not so much that evangelicals are grasping for so-called “Christian America.” Rather, it’s our being drawn into…
“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” 1 Peter 3:8 Pastors and Leaders, This is probably one of the…
Shame. Shame is the fear of being unworthy, and it adversely affects our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. Shame makes us feel small, unwanted, and unloved. And if we…
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…
I am currently reading an amazing book by Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race, and read a passage that really struck me: “Take care in your conversations, remember that…
Dear Roger, I was recently asked when people of skin tone other than white as an indicator of racial or ethnic affiliation first appeared in the Bible. Was it before the…
Remember: List 5-10 things you remember from childhood. Now, go back and scan your list. How many of those memories are negative in nature? Don’t be alarmed if most of the…
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.…
“May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!” Psalm 12:3 NET We live in a time where parents feel they have to praise everything kids do; no…
WHY YOU SHOULD SEE “A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?” Russell Moore, in his charming article about Fred Rogers, pulls our heartstrings and reminds us how we should cherish…
I have two sets of parents. Both couples were wed during the Jurassic period (not really). Both were married almost 60 years. I watched each twosome grow old together. One…
It’s a challenge you face as a church leader: what do you do with people who only occasionally attend church? Like at Easter or Christmas or special occasions? But infrequent…
Dear Roger, How do I explain to my five-year old why God lets people be poor and homeless? In other words, how do I explain suffering in the world to…
I remember the first day I began to struggle with my body image. I was a competitive swimmer and track athlete in high school. I competed hard, which kept me…
Jesus’ great, great, great, great grannies were all REALLY bad girls (except for Mary, of course). Matthew mentions five women in the royal line of the Messiah: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth,…
Revelation chapters four and five provide a unique opportunity to experience a bit of heaven—and John’s description is the tiniest glimpse of a mind-blowing reality we cannot even begin…
“Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.” Genesis 1:26 MSG Racial violence has stirred the rawest of wounds–racism. Judging a person according to skin…
Dear Roger, In the past, I have been a part of many short term missions’ trips both at home in the U.S. and abroad in foreign countries. Lately however,…
Hi, I don’t feel comfortable stating my name, but I am 17 and a Christian. I was raised as one and was always told and preached that without God and…
Dear Roger, What’s the best advice you ever gave to your congregation to help them through the New Year? Sincerely, Phil Dear Phil, I don’t suppose that I…
How does Satan influence you? How do you defeat him? You can clearly ways to recognize demonic oppression in your life and find victory! I believe a Christian cannot be…
What is the point of Jesus’ parables? We must learn the context, the question and the hinge moment (the outlandish surprise element). The legal experts only wanted to call other…
Battles come every day. In whatever form they come, they come. They come with relentless pressure, incessantly assailing the battlements of our lives and our culture. Battles come in our…
We spend so much time trying to impress God that we forget He is crazy in love with us. Rest in His love and not in your works. The God…
We affirm people when we treat them with dignity, knowing that they matter to God. If you want to stand out in your leadership, one secret puts you head and…
Paul teaches that we are God’s poema-His “masterpiece” designed to reflect His character on the earth. Grace is God’s means for our transformation. Preached at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship. YouTube link…
Narrow-minded, judgmental Christians. That’s how many people view Christ-followers. Often we do not convey God’s love, mercy and compassion as we ought. However, Christianity is not simply a set of…
Leadership is a rare commodity. It’s almost impossible to imitate. Competitors can only imitate what you do, but they can’t imitate who you are. How do you define a successful…
Jesus teaches the Bible is not a rule book. Jesus didn’t live in a set way. He lived out His love in a consistent way with His character as the…
Dear Roger, Hi! I am seperated with two kids who I take care by myself . I had to make a stop to violence and abuse in my…
No matter what age we are, the Bible tells us that there is still an incredible prize that awaits us. I can celebrate victory because I can celebrate Christ. 1…
Most pastors see themselves as preachers first. They naturally want to maximize their pulpit time. Indeed, sermon length is increasing worldwide. However, I want to identify compelling reasons to keep…
This message is one our culture preaches in earnest to girls and women, beginning in earliest childhood. It comes at us from virtually every angle: television, movies, music, magazines, books,…
Who shall separate us from God’s love? Not God. He already has too much invested in us. Not others. God has already sealed His decision in concrete. Not Jesus. He…
Leading is a difficult task whether you are in the secular world or in church. Leaders must stay sharp if they want to be faithful to the task God has…
Have you ever noticed that the hardest passages of scripture tend to be the ones that call us to the greatest commitment to Christ? I was reminded of this after…
Jesus deals with the judgmental way we often try to control those closest to us. Instead of blaming others for their problems and forcing upon them our “wonderful solutions,” Jesus…
Mary and Martha both loved Jesus. But Martha worked hard for Jesus’ approval, fearing failure and rejection. Am I working against God, apart from God or with God?
Two thousand years ago the term “disciple” was synonymous with danger. We tend to remove the risk from the Gospel. Jesus did not die to keep you safe. He died…
How do you know when it’s time to make a big decision in your life? How do you know when circumstances squeeze you into a corner and force you to…
How can we honor the Lord on his Birthday according to the Bible? In Philippians 2:5-7, Paul writes that Jesus came down to earth as a servant and made himself…
Genesis 43 recounts the reunion of Joseph and his long-lost brothers. The moving story in this chapter paints a picture of brothers expressing fear, guilt, grief and pain. Emotions are a…
Dear Roger, What does the Bible say about plastic surgery? Anonymous Dear Anonymous, What does the Bible say about plastic surgery? Absolutely Nothing! Plastic surgery is never mentioned…
Every Christ-follower needs to claim their place of belonging in God’s family, the church. God has gifted us uniquely to serve in the body and meet the needs of others.
Boaz exemplified the generosity and condescension of Christ as he bestowed upon Ruth his undeserved favor. We should be grateful for grace and having received it, we give it.
The quality of our relationships with our children determines the weight of our influence. Regardless of their ages, we must never lose this influence to nurture and guide them. Children…
In our overworked, hurried, and self-focused culture, it’s easy for us to go days at a time without having a substantive conversation with another human being. The phrase, “How are…
Believing the best is a challenge. It is so easy to focus on what’s wrong with someone rather than on what’s right about them. It’s the natural human response. But…
Living a life of integrity and honesty brings freedom to our lives and to our relationships with God and others. God accepts us just as we are, and those who…
Pastor’s wives are often great givers-serving everyone else-but poor receivers. The key to avoiding burnout in ministry is learning to receive from God and others.
God is greater than any distance we create. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere all the time. Even though our inclination is to wander, God focuses on proximity. Jesus came…
FRIENDSHIPS ARE ESSENTIAL TO LIFE From the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God declared, “It is not good for man to be alone” even though He walked in fellowship…