How John the Baptist Pointed Others (and Us) to The Kingdom of God
|The four gospels found in the New Testament reveal that the “The Kingdom of God” stands at the heart of Jesus’s ministry. It is the subject of the first words … Continued
Listening or Grumbling?
|For a number of years, my parents have helped serve at the European Leadership Forum, a conference which seeks to “unite, equip, and resource Evangelical leaders to renew the biblical … Continued
Work Smarter, Not Harder
|A number of years ago I was introduced to the expression, “Work smarter, not harder.” Though the person who shared it at that moment was not exactly known for his … Continued
Lessons in Christian Living From a Building Project
|The church that I pastor is in the midst of a building project as I write this post. This has been an exciting season, as we are essentially doubling the … Continued
Examining Ourselves and Recognizing the Body at Communion
|The sacrament of communion is meant to provide comfort to Christians and promote unity among them. Unfortunately, over the years it has at times had the exact opposite effect. Some … Continued
Lessons in Christian Living From the Lives of Athletes
|My growing lawn and the farm fields I drive through each day caused me to write a post earlier this year on the use of agricultural imagery in the Bible. … Continued
The Meaning of Membership: Reflections From a New Member
|This coming weekend we will be welcoming new members at Faith Church, as individuals will publicly affirm their membership vows and the congregation will make a promise back to these … Continued
Having TI (Theological Intelligence) About AI (Part 2)
|In a previous blog post, I introduced the concept of TI (Theological Intelligence) and its importance in considering AI (Artificial Intelligence). I also noted that I would continue that discussion … Continued
Having TI (Theological Intelligence) About AI (Part 1)
|A number of years ago, I heard a speaker state something to the effect that a person with a high IQ might not end up being successful in various situations … Continued
Israel’s Encounter with Ancient AI and Our Encounter with Modern AI
|There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years about Artificial Intelligence, often referred to simply by its abbreviation of AI. I’ve posted a few times about … Continued
Did God Command Genocide?
|At the time I write this post, it has been nearly nine months since Hamas’s attack on Israel and the start of a war between Israel and Hamas. This war … Continued
Whose Land is it Anyway?
|Over the past few weeks, we at Faith Church have been reading through the Old Testament book of Joshua as part of our Bible Reading Plan and also studying it … Continued
Receiving the Baton
|Over the years, I have heard a lot of people talk about “passing the baton” of leadership from one person to the next. Many of these discussions center around the … Continued
Passing the Baton
|In a previous post, I offered some reflections on the importance of and also the current challenges in “passing the baton” in the church. Those reflections were more general and … Continued
The Baton Handoff in the Community of Faith
|2024 is an Olympic year, and one of my favorite track events to watch in the Olympics are the relay races. A critical component in those races is the baton … Continued
Lessons in Sowing and Reaping
|It seems like we have had a lot of rain this Spring, which has sped up the frequency I’ve had to mow my lawn but slowed down the farmers in … Continued
Membership Redefined: Embracing Authentic Belonging
|This week’s post is written by John Bivona, an elder at the Dyer location of Faith Church. Our elders lead our membership classes and offer spiritual guidance to the members … Continued
What We Can Know About the Activities of the Apostles
|The purpose of the book in the New Testament we call “The Acts of the Apostles” was not to chronicle what happened to each of the 12 apostles. Rather, as … Continued
The Ascension of Jesus – An Event So Nice Luke Narrated It Twice!
|Growing up I heard people call New York City, “The city so nice, they named it twice.” A little bit of research on that saying led me to discover that … Continued
Dealing with the Difficult Laws in Deuteronomy (Part 2)
|While Jesus and early Christians seem to have read and even delighted in the book of Deuteronomy, it can be a challenging read for Christians today because it features such … Continued