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New Article: Grace Changes Everything

               A young man broke into a business and did $5000 damage. As part of his Restorative Justice sentence, he was required to meet with my friend Garth.   Garth believes in making apologies and restitution.   It took several months, but Garth finally convinced the young man that these were necessary steps, so he tried to arrange a meeting with the business owner.                The business owner wanted nothing to do with this situation.   He was angry and wanted a more severe form of justice.   Eventually, however, he agreed to meet the young man to hear what he had to say.                  The young man looked the business owner in the eye and said, “I am sorry!   There is no excuse for my actions.   I am going to get a job and pay back every cent I owe you”.   With that, the meeting ended.                Later that night, Ga
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Hurry Up and Slow Down (Ephesians 4-6)

 It is easy to get swept up in activity and running from one thing to the next. While there are seasons in life that are naturally more busy than others, we must not allow the rush to overwhelm the important. In today's lessons, three keys to finding the life God wants for us. Some thoughts about slowing down.  
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New Lesson: What Are You Talking About? (Ephesians 3)

 It is not that people do not want to listen. The problem is that the church is talking about things that they do not care about. We need to refine and clarify our message so that it is not only heard, but understood and wanted as well.  
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New Article: Surprised by God

                 We would be shocked if we could hear the Bible for the first time again.   On every page, something unexpected happens.   The only reason we are not surprised is that the stories are so familiar to us.   Think about some of the unexpected interactions that God has had with his people.                For example, every culture has stories about a creator, but none imagined that God would become part of the creation.   That the creator would lower himself and become human is surprising, to say the least.                Not only did he become one of us, but he also came as a baby.   A tiny, helpless, baby!   If I were God, I would have come as a mighty warrior or a powerful King.   God’s action in this case was so unexpected that almost no one noticed his entry into the world.                  One might
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There are No La-Z-Boys in Church (Ephesians 4)

You cannot earn your salvation. However, we are told that we ought to live lives worthy of it. To get started, here are two areas to focus on.  
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A Thanksgiving Story (Ephesians 2)

 Remembering where we came from, how we got here and the blessings we share.  
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New Article: A Better Way to Pray

                 Almost every culture has a genie-in-the-bottle-type story in which someone frees a being from captivity and is granted three wishes.     Often the wishes go wrong.   For example, the man who asks for a pile of money finds it difficult to know his real friends because everyone wants something from him.   The woman who asks for a life of leisure finds that a life without stress is boring.   The moral is that we do not know what to ask for and that what we think we need may harm us.                I bring this up because our prayers often sound like our three wishes list.   We ask for what we think we need and overlook what would be most beneficial.   On top of that, our prayers can become so repetitive that we just give up.   Fortunately, scripture shows us something better.   As Paul starts his letter to the Ephesian church,
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