Jesus spoke in parables, and often the greater lesson in these can be difficult to understand. What lessons are there in this story from Luke 15:11-32? Watch this short video to get you started with your own study.
On our 2017 Christmas podcast, we took a unique approach to telling the traditional Christmas story by including various conversations Jesus had as an adult. We found a pattern of who he gave his time to and what secret reveals he shared to these special people. Watch this quick vlog and then listen to the entire program for a new perspective on how attentive this Savior of the World was to our human needs.
John the Baptist would be considered great by most any standards that measure greatness. We explore the things that made him that way.
What happens when we make mistakes? We examine how the Apostle Paul guided the early church (and us) to a better understanding of right and wrong.
What course of action and what attitude should we have as Christians when we know that we have said or done something wrong? What examples are there in the Scriptures?
Last week we began our conversation by saying that pride can be a tricky thing and prejudice can be an awful thing. We focused our attention on the pride side of the matter and its insidious way of taking over our lives. Now it’s time to talk about prejudice, and this is a hard conversation to have. For most of us, we can observe what we think is prejudice in others. We see a skewed view on some group or approach and we think about how unfortunate it is and wonder why they cannot see a bigger picture. Well, the bigger picture begins with these questions: How prejudiced am I in my view of the world and of others approach? Am I willing and able to recognize prejudice in my own thinking, and when I see it am I willing to attack it with the same passion that I feel about the prejudice of others? Prejudice needs attention and eradication, no matter where it’s found. How do we do that?
Pride can be a tricky thing and prejudice can be an awful thing. Let’s focus on pride right now. On the one hand we are told to take pride in our work – well, at least when I was a kid that’s what I was told! We want to be proud of our children and to be proud of our country. We want to take pride in the things we own and we want to leave a legacy that we can be proud of. So, pride is good! Well, on the other hand, we can see how pride comes before destruction, how pride can skew our view of others and how pride creates temptation to be dishonest. We can see pride becoming obsession, and we can see how pride can create a lack of trust in others, a lack of compassion for others and a lack of credit to others. So, pride is bad! Obviously this is a subject that needs not only clear definitions but clear principles to establish clear thinking. There is only one solution – let’s see what the Bible says!
The life of Jesus truly is the greatest story ever told, for because of his life, all of mankind will also have life. The life of Jesus reflects all that is good and selfless in humanity. The death of Jesus reflects all that is courageous and noble and the resurrection of Jesus – well, that reflects all that is godly and loving. Jesus truly did leave us a legacy to follow. Today we honor his resurrection by following some of the legacy he left behind for us during his last day.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is probably one of the best known of Jesus’ teachings. It touches the heart because of its very practical and dramatic lessons of humility and forgiveness in action. As we look into the story we want to look inward as well. Are we, or have we ever been, prodigal sons? If so, have we come all the way back? And what about the other part of the story – the part we almost never talk about..? Stay with us as we journey through some life changing events!
Did you ever stop and wonder what Christianity, in its truest sense, looks like? Is Christianity about getting or giving? Is it about living just like everyone else, or is it about living to a higher standard? Is it about the incessant chatter of everyday life or is it about a life-changing message? Is Christianity about learning to accept yourself as you are, or is it about offering who you are to God to become what he wants you to be? These are questions that can be answered if we understand how holiness fits into the picture. Stay with us as we look at our Christianity and what role "holiness" plays in it.
