The Practice of Compassion
Following Jesus as an act of resistance to our cultural push toward hurry, hustle, distraction and shallowness. Most of our greatest mistakes tend to come when we’re in a hurry.…
Following Jesus as an act of resistance to our cultural push toward hurry, hustle, distraction and shallowness. Most of our greatest mistakes tend to come when we’re in a hurry.…
We do these practices like (slowing, simplicity, silence, solitude, sabbath and more) in order to grow the fruit of the Spirit within us and cultivate compassion like Christ within our…
The dream was perfect. I was at a party and as I moved through the crowd I was really enjoying some sweet revenge by telling stories about someone who…
We often define our lives by the big moments. But most of our lives consist of ordinary chapters. They may not feel significant, but ultimately end up changing everything. In…
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…
Dear Roger, I know God said, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). I’ve been thinking a lot about friends—it’s been tough to make time for…
Humility is not thinking less of yourself or having low self-esteem, it is thinking of yourself less, by thinking of others and God more. As the Spirit of God dwells…
Forgive Quickly. The Bible speaks of keeping “short accounts.” In other words, don’t hold on to anger. Keep your marriage “current” instead of bottling up past issues, only to release…
For the first ten years of my marriage, I struggled with the fear of abandonment. My father and my first pastor had both left their wives for younger women. Because…
You married with the hope of sharing your life with someone who’s as pumped to make the most of it as you are, so how did the two of you…
Do you know what Jonah’s final recorded words were? Were they words of repentance? Words of gratitude? Words of praise? Nope. They were words of spite. The last words that…
“Returning to God in Unity” Ephesians 4:1-6 Introduction Many fish species swim together in groups called schools to survive. The school creates a tight formation that moves swiftly in perfect…
As a child of God, you have a very special relationship with other Christians. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians pictures this relationship in two different ways. First, every believer is…
“I want my kids to love me. But I am afraid that if I am too strong they won’t.” If you have ever had this concern, listen to this episode.…
It’s easy to forget that even people like Paul the apostle needed—and indeed had—friends. In the book of Philippians, he named several of them, including Timothy. This man added enormous…
Epaphroditus kind of sounds like a disease, doesn’t it? It’s an unusual name. But in the Bible, Epaphroditus was a dear friend and servant of Paul the apostle. His name shows…
James teaches us we need to examine the purity of our hearts and behaviors. Here’s why…
Here we are explicitly told what the walk of believers entails: the walk “in love,” the imitation of God and of Christ, who loved with a love beyond compare. Having…
““Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble…
There are many opinions on what these three terms mean and how they relate to each other. Here are my thoughts. All three terms describe a process whereby a person…
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I…
Are manners still important in this day and age? Dr. Leman discusses the importance of etiquette in your kid’s behavior. www.birthorderguy.com.
Dear Roger, Jesus told us to love our enemies, but I’m having trouble with that. I have some people who are really hurting me. In fact, I think that I…
Dear Roger, Please help me build my relationship with God while I’m isolated from my church and others. Sincerely, Ronnie Dear Ronnie, I would love to help! I’ve put together…
Is a lifetime commitment to a spouse even reasonable? Does permanence have to become a goal if it means a couple just has to grin and bear it? What if a…
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…
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Dear Roger. I think I take my loved ones for granted.. My kids are driving me crazy! I dread holidays and family reunions. They are always a mine field! We’ve…
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…
Dear Roger, Our small group was studying the passage in John 21 where Jesus commissioned Peter to be a shepherd for His sheep. I hadn’t considered the next part before,…
Dear Roger, Many factors determine who should receive treatment during a world-wide health crisis. Who lives? Who dies? Who receives life-giving treatments? Essential workers, health workers, the elderly have…
“Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.” Proverbs 18:24. MSG I hired Gary Shrader over the telephone. I was 26. Gary was 24, green and…
A Unique Take on the Good Samaritan. Excellent illustrations!
I was first introduced to the idea of courtship while reading The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler. I was automatically intrigued. My boyfriend and I have been together for almost a…
Thirty-six times in the New Testament we see a recurring word pattern—an action verb followed by the words one another. In English grammar this phrase is called a reciprocal pronoun—I…
Affirming our grandchildren – it’s key: to building strong relationships, to discipleship, to passing the faith. Our words are powerful. When handled well, they can build up, encourage, communicate love,…
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…
(Dear Reader, the following letter was written by a woman in another country who is in the throes of an acrimonious, three-year dragged out divorce. I am choosing not to…
“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring…
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). How are we commanded to love…
“It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:9). Remember that old Beatles song, “All You Need Is Love?”…
Two conditions of the heart exist where no one can hide: one is when the heart is filled with love and the other when we are infected with bitterness. Either…
How do you combine compassionate love with confrontational truth? What’s the secret to “speaking the truth in love”? The apostle John knew. Pastor John MacArthur gives us a glimpse of…
Forget online matchmaking sites. If you need some tips on finding love, perhaps these weird and wonderful Old Testament tales will inspire you. We will also examine four passionate Bible…
Dear Roger, Our small group is reading through the New Testament together. I never realized how much of the Gospels was devoted to the subject of demons. I got to…
Someone sent me a picture of a sign they saw in a church. It is perhaps the greatest Christian passive aggressive note I have ever seen in my life. Since…
Though often well-intended, a commitment to being “color blind” becomes harmful when it fails to recognize the good ways God has filled the world with color. In other words, sometimes…
Have you ever come across a word that seems to jump out at you consistently? A word that causes you to sit up and take notice each time you hear…
I’ve grown up my whole life hearing that racism was wrong, that “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own…
You never stop being a mom. From the day you learn you have a bun in the oven to the day you breathe your last, your child is always on…
Dear Roger, Last week I helped lead my friend to Christ. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that. She began crying as she confessed her…
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…
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,…
“Hi, son! How was your day?” “Fine.” “What happened at school?” “Nothing.” “Anything happen you would like to talk about?” “No.” Sound like a familiar conversation when you pick…
How do you know if you are proud? Paul has the litmus test. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us…
We all love romance. We all love a good love story. I don’t know if it is ingrained in us to love romance, or a product of Disney marketing, but…
Here’s a question I am asked occasionally…Here’s my podcast with Doug: Guilt drives a dad to worry about how to explain to his daughter that she was conceived before her…
Almost everyone tries to develop new habits and make improvements at the beginning of a new year. But by the time March rolls around, most of the diets have crashed…
Dear Roger, I was reading about the Great Commandment in Matthew 22. Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart soul and mind. Jesus said that…
Dear Roger, I have been deeply offended because my spouse has been mistreated by a trusted friend and I can’t seem to get past it. How do I find it…
Dear Roger, Refugees and racism have been, and will continue to be, hot issues. It’s estimated that over 30% of the people in the Roman Empire in the first century…
Dear Roger, I’ve had three daughters. The first one died in my arms. The second one has debilitating medical challenges. She’s lain on a deathbed more than once. The third…
“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…
I woke up in Hell. Really. It was that hot. Open heart surgery was finished and my thirteen-year-old body was racked with pain. It’s easier today. Open the chest and…
These days there’s a lot of talk about “unity” in the church. On the one side, there are Christians who insist that any talk of “race” and racism threatens the…
The social networking phenomenon is accelerating at record speeds and isn’t likely to slow down any time soon. The Pew Research Center states the following statistics for 2018: “Some 95%…
God’s love to all humanity is a love of compassion. To say it another way, it is a love of pity. It is a broken-hearted love. He is “good, and ready to…
Why did Rebekah “fall” off of her donkey when she first saw her beloved? Learn why….
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…
One of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked about Heaven over the years is about the nature of marriage there. As I share in my book Heaven, there will be one…
The Biblical-World View and the Non-Biblical-World View approach the sex issue from entirely different perspectives. One is founded upon a sexual ideology where anything goes. The other is designed to…
Most of us have been hurt by someone we know or someone we love. Sometimes, our reaction is to disconnect from that person and hold a grudge or to hurt…
There is a twist—a deeper reason why the perception of hypocrisy exists. It’s not just our lifestyles that have gotten us in trouble; it’s the very way in which we…
I sat across the room from the couple, trying to slow down my mind and open my heart to the criticism they were leveling at me. They had been offended…
Dear Roger, Now we have the results: the President has not supported Israel as in the past. It seems to me that a lot of older Christians have an unhealthy…
Our neighborhood kids are in their yards gleefully decorating for Halloween. Cardboard witches, ghoulish ghosts and sticky spider webs cover the lawns. I have nothing against candy. Give me a…
One of my favorite Bible characters is Rebecca. So today we are in Genesis 24, witnessing Abraham’s servant being sent to find a wife for his young master. The story…
The Bible does not describe us merely as wayward, broken, or needing a moral boost but as those who are dead in sin (Eph. 2:1). Dead men and women do…
Jesus embodied compassion. What can we learn from how He treated others? True compassion demands action. It interrupts our daily routine. Caring costs. But compassion changes lives! Preached at LifeChurch.tv.…
Hi Roger, I often find myself bouncing between believing and not. Growing up I was shown what it was like to put up a false front so to speak. At…
When we ask the question about what draws others to us, we might first want to determine why we’re asking the question. This magnetism is not about popularity, attractiveness or…
Racism isn’t just the presence of hatred-it’s the absence of love. How do we “neighbor” others? By recognizing our own prejudices, seeking to understand others, and by loving those different…
One of the key ways to reach an unchurched audience is through special events. Warren Bird writes: “For church leaders who are trying to crack the code on more effectively…
Here are scriptures to address Satan’s attacks on your mind. Blasphemous Thoughts –2 Cor10:4-5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,…
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…
It will come as no surprise to most that the U.S. population has been consistently loosening its ties with church over the past few decades. In the early 1990s, only…
Jeff Foxworthy, the old, redneck comedian who readily admits that he is “not smarter than a fifth-grader” is wiser than he looks. In spite of his humble roots, Foxworthy teaches…
Me. Myself. And I. The three people we tend to care about the most in western civilization. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the sickness of self-absorption has infected…
Over the last two weeks, we announced that the U.S. now has at least 8,000 multisite churches (by the broadest definition) and also 5 trends in how multisites launch and…
Sermon begins at 32:05. We can listen to the voices of rage and anger in our lives. We can hear the shouts of the world around us, or we can…
The Tolerance of Jezebel in Thyatira (Rev. 2:19-24) people? 19 ‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than…
Velcro love sticks and stays. God’s HESED love causes us to act on commitment, not feelings first. Suffering is the context where true love begins. Christ’s sacrifice is the embodiment…
Loving your mother-in-law can be a mixed bag. My mother-in-law made it abundantly clear that she didn’t approve of me from Day One. Her son, an angelic boy scout who…
Throughout 5,000 years of recorded human history virtually every culture has had some kind of myths regarding the supernatural world. In fact, Judaism and later Christianity, also sprang from a…
God sent His perfect love in Jesus, His Son. God’s love seeks to dig deep within our souls, He unearths those fears, and casts them out. Like Peter, when Jesus…
Time is a precious commodity. If traded on the commodities market, its value would be incalculable. But alas, time cannot be bought or sold. And while the length of our…
God knows everything. He knows what we do before we do it, what we think before we think it, what we say before we say it, what we need before…
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…
Are you happy or unhappy with your life? If you sat down and made a list of reasons why you are happy or unhappy, chances are, you will be able…
Dear Roger, I am the pastor of a 100 member adult church and I was informed today that my largest giving family will no longer be with us. This family…
Faith is relational, not formulaic. If you are frustrated or confused by seeming inconsistencies in Scripture, the God of the Bible longs to meet you where you are, to be…
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…
There’s a gap that exists between who we are and who we want to be, the gap between our current project and where we want it go. What do you…
Recently, at a routine mammogram, the doctors discovered that I had developed breast cancer. Since then, it has been a whirlwind of appointments, scans and surgery. Even though the past…
We must act upon our faith by loving our community and serving others well.
What was my most embarrassing moment? Combine my brash disregard for tradition, my total lack of tact, my predilection for clumsiness and the possibilities for humiliation are endless. The longer…
Dear Roger, I have been in an affair with the pastor of my church for 15 years. Now that it is ending, do I have any legal rights for damages?…
“Ninety-five percent of all the decisions you’ll ever make in your career could be made by a reasonably intelligent high school sophomore. But they’ll pay you for the other five…
There’s always that one kid. The kid who won’t stay in his seat at the restaurant. The girl who has to have the last word. And the boy who’s always…
We all have vampires in our lives. They’re not the ones with pale skin and blood-thirsty fangs – but they do suck the life out of us. They live in…
What if Jesus walked into your church office, applying for a staff position. Would He be welcomed? Would He be laughed out of the office? Would he be politely dismissed…
How important is your reputation to you? Have you suffered rejection and slander for following Jesus? How many of us Christians would follow Jesus during His time? His reputation was…
What characteristics should a godly leader possess? I try to avoid the word “qualifications,” for that leaves the impression that if a man doesn’t bat a thousand percent in each…
God wants us to pray specifically. Pray for your enemies, for the unsaved, for national and spiritual leaders, for your neighbors, co-workers and family. In praying for them, God will…
Every person is created in the image of God Himself. Jesus loved the most unlikely people- God. In one way or another all human beings reflect God himself. Jesus served…
One day we will know just how much God has blessed us. God has made us to be His hands and feet-to touch the hurting and feed the poor. We…
As a community of believers grows, its needs new leaders raised up to handle the increased ministry needs. This is true for churches that handle growth by multiplying into…
I’ve been following the Lord for a little over 30 years now. And as I’ve watched the passing parade, some of the most zealous, devout, committed Christians that I knew…
In many local elementary schools, every few weeks the “Lost and Found” box is emptied out and the contents are scattered down the length of the main hall. Coats, mittens,…
Your values are what you want to stand for, what you want to do, or how you want to behave. You can take a fixed approach or a principled approach.…
Do all men leave? For the first ten years of my marriage, I struggled with the fear of abandonment. My father and my first pastor had both left their wives…
We are born with a sense of justice. But because of this tendency, we tend to want to retaliate when we are unjustly treated. Walk in wisdom. Walk in community.…
Marriage isn’t easy or fair. Love is a choice, not an emotion. Master the marriage cycle: joy, disillusionment, misery, understanding, mature love. Submission is putting the needs and interests of…
Hosea was asked by God to marry an unfaithful woman and love her unconditionally. In doing so, he demonstrated the kind of amazing love God has for his children.
What is the Christian church supposed to look like? What are some of the most common and dangerous problems facing any church and how can you correct them? …
Young pastors or seminarians often ask me for advice on what kind of early ministry experience to seek in order to best grow in skill and wisdom as a pastor.…
Dear Roger, After devastating occurrences taking place in my life one after the other I have given up on God! As somebody who from an early age has been taught…
Hundreds of ministers have admitted that when they get the phone call with the sobbing, furious, or panicked person on the other line, they do not know what to say. …
The image of God on the earth should show in the lives of Christ’s followers. Others should be surprised to see the love, forgiveness and spiritual power in our lives.…
Who can you trust? Who will help you lead your church? In my estimation, people usually have one of these attitudes concerning leadership. #1 – “Can Do” This is the…
The service begins with the baptism of a young girl who was supposed to be dead in the womb after a DNC. Instead, she survived and became a powerful testimony…
Many people in our society are blind to spiritual things, especially to the unconditional love of Jesus and His free gift of salvation. A woman, an outcast in her land…
Sexuality is designed by God as a way to know Him more fully. Knowing God is designed by God as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. By John…
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty. I want a drink.” Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do. She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of…
Encouraging love is patient. Patience is the ability to be wronged and wronged again, and to have the power to retaliate, but refuse to strike back. Kindness gives to one’s…
Salvation is by grace through faith. That is a foundational truth. But it is usually understood to mean that nothing you do contributes to salvation. With this, a pervasive passivity…
Dear Roger, I am a devout Christian and my girlfriend is Mormon. We are getting closer to closer and have been dating about a year and have gotten through tough…
Did you know that God has blessed you with hope and a future? His blessing is both personal, powerful and prophetic. Genesis 49 reveals great truths about prophetic blessings as…
Christianity certainly takes its share of bashing in the news. While most of what we hear is politicized rhetoric, the damage is especially devastating when professing Christians themselves contribute rude…
Do you struggle with losing weight? Every day is a battle, one calorie at a time. And then there is that wicked cupcake, that seductive pizza, that chocolate milkshake that…
“Yes, Brother, I see that hand!” Church leaders, like all men with feet of clay, are tempted to climb ladders of success. Buildings, budgets and baptisms are never far from…
Roger,I was baptized when I was a baby, and again when I accepted the Lord into my heart when I was 21. My question is this: My 20’s were a…
King Solomon teaches many valuable lessons about love and romance in the marriage relationship. We learn from him that love is pure, love protects and love is passionate. In the…
Blind spots and facades can cripple our relationships. We must learn to receive honest feedback and speak the truth in love.
God’s limitless love is beyond logic. How can we pass it on? Love someone when they least expect it and least deserve it. Read Pastor Mark’s Sermon in Punjabi.
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…
How do we know something unknowable or measure something immeasurable? There is only one way to lose self and that is to love another and be lost in Him. Preached…
Jesus commends the Ephesian church for its strengths, offers correction for its problems and encourages members to re-kindle their first love, the Lord Jesus. In the struggle to live passionate…
King David is called “the sweet psalmist of Israel” in 2 Samuel 23:1. On top of that, he is the most frequently mentioned individual in the psalm headings throughout the…
TEACHER TO TEACHER This is the last lesson in our Faith Foundations study series. It contains four “big ideas.” First, we describe Casas as a Kingdom church whose primary mission…
Bible study must include observation, interpretation and application, but must also include relational questions about intimacy with God and others.
Leah, wife of Jacob and sister of Rachel, was switched with her sister on Jacob and Rachel’s wedding night. She lived in a loveless marriage, unappreciated and unsupported. We can…
God loves us unconditionally and simply asks us to love Him intimately, humbly serve Him, and to walk with Him in submission and obedience.
Our children need to develop healthy, functional relationships by practicing self-awareness, self-management and social awareness. As Joseph’s story unfolds in the Old Testament, we see how these characteristics lead him…
Dear Roger, Do you have to publicly become a Christian or can you do it in private? Sincerely, Anonymous (from Casas Church Discovering Christianity Class) Dear Anonymous, When I was…
I stopped off at a local bookstore with my daughter yesterday and picked up two seasonally published magazines about the Bible. One was published by U.S. News and World Report. The other…
Children have an incredible knack at comforting. One mother tells of her little Tina coming home late from school. “Where have you been, Tina?” her mom asked.“Lisa dropped her best…
I recently read an interesting quote about Buddhism’s impact on real world problems. Check this out. “Christmas Humpreys, an influential Western Buddhist, admits…’It may be asked, what contribution Buddhism…
I recently read an interesting quote about Buddhism’s impact on real world problems. Check this out. “Christmas Humpreys, an influential Western Buddhist, admits…’It may be asked, what contribution Buddhism…
Our purpose is to live for Christ, a life of noticing others so we can minister the encouragement, compassion and comfort Jesus first showed us. As our love shines in…
Paul poses four questions. If we are encouraged by Christ, can we give that same encouragement to others? If we are comforted by Him, can we comfort others? If we…
I’m convinced that we must be continually reminded of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this world, we face a great a great accuser (Rev. 12:10), an…
The scene: A bunker on the front lines. Artillery shells are exploding all around. Machine-guns lay down a blanket of tracer rounds overhead. The drone of enemy dive-bombers is increasing…
iPods, iPhones, text messaging, e-mail, social networking, video and audio input are all screaming for our attention. It’s funny how the absence of something in your life causes you to…
Every pastor’s wife deals with pandemonium. The day-to-day challenges of family, work and ministry demand patience, grace and strength. Proverbs 31 was written by a mother to express the inestimable…
God forces Peter to face his prejudices and surrender them to the Lord. Mankind has a history of prejudging others based on superficial characteristics. Instead God asks us to look…
Many of us analyze the Bible to resolve doctrinal and behavioral questions instead of immersing ourselves in a story that is intended to saturate our heart, soul and mind. To…
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…
Reading the list of character qualities in Proverbs 31 can be daunting. No one person could possibly embody all of these traits or perform all of these tasks. Proverbs…