Consider this

                I remember sitting in Sunday school when I was about twelve years old thinking, “You have got to be kidding!   We are talking about the cross again?”   I was sick of hearing the same stories over and over. Sometimes, though, there are no other options.   For example, when I change oil in my car I always put oil in the crankcase.   Putting honey in there instead, just to do something different, is not going to work.   That same logic applies to the church.   We must keep going over the same stuff because that repetition is not only good, it is necessary.   As Paul said, “It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you” (Philippians 3:1).                 The question that the church must answer then is this: “How do we teach the same old things without boring people to de

                I have a bad temper.   Generally speaking, it takes a lot to make me mad, but when I am, watch out!     As I think back on the times when I have really become upset, I realize that not once did my yelling make anyone stop and say, “Tim is making some really good points!”   It never made anyone like me better or respect me more, so why would I think that blowing my top is a good way to handle things?                 Well, honestly, fighting feels good!   There is an adrenaline rush that comes with putting people in their place.   In fact, in his book, “I’m Right and You’re an Idiot” James Hoggan states that, whether we make a connection with someone or pick a fight with them, the exact same happy endorphins are released into the brain.   Therefore, people can become addicted to drama and their lives feel boring if they

                “The mortal will be swallowed up in ________”.   Most people think that “death” is the word that completes that sentence.   However, in 2 Corinthians 5:4, the apostle Paul says that the mortal will be swallowed up by “life”.   That seems like an odd word choice, but the point is that death is not the end.   Rather, death is the beginning of our real and best life. To illustrate, Paul says, “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home, not built by hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).   For anyone who has ever gone tenting, this comparison makes sense. I love tenting!   I think that is great that you can take your entire sleeping quarters and roll them up into a tiny ball.   Tenting is really fun - for about three days.   After that, sleeping on the ground does not seem fun anymore. Wal