DISCIPLESHIP: Grow With G.R.A.M.P.S. Deuteronomy 2.

“Steven, you got a telephone call,” my dad announced one Saturday morning. He was oddly excited about it, eager to tell me the whole story. I had just crawled out of bed, a college student coming in the kitchen at 9 o’clock looking for some cereal. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” “Well, he calledContinue reading “DISCIPLESHIP: Grow With G.R.A.M.P.S. Deuteronomy 2.”

‘Thou Shalt Decree a Thing and It Shall Be Established.’ If You Can Name it, You Can Claim it!

Image generated by A.I. Bob turned on the television at the end of a long day. He walked across the room and fell into a recliner, exhausted. His wife Julie was seated next to him, using her phone to play an online game of Scrabble with one of her girlfriends. As the television came on,Continue reading “‘Thou Shalt Decree a Thing and It Shall Be Established.’ If You Can Name it, You Can Claim it!”

Deny Himself. Mark 8:34.

A woman once brought her little boy to Robert E. Lee. She asked the West Point graduate and Civil War general to bless her son. He gave an interesting answer: “Teach him that he must deny himself.” Did anyone teach you to deny yourself? When did you last tell yourself No? When was the lastContinue reading “Deny Himself. Mark 8:34.”

YOUR BEST LIFE NOW? Matthew 16:24-26.

Crucifixion was common. In 4 B.C., the Roman General Varus crucified 2,000 Jews in Palestine, the first of many mass crucifixions. The Romans perfected crucifixion, including the whippings, beatings, and placement of the body on the cross. The hands were nailed through a wrist bone, and one skeleton has been found with a wooden boardContinue reading “YOUR BEST LIFE NOW? Matthew 16:24-26.”

OBSERVE ALL THINGS. Matthew 28:20.

When Jesus gave us our mission statement, he included a phrase I had not noticed until yesterday’s sermon at Kingsland: “Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded” Matthew 28:20. In context, that means that my mission in life is to “Go… and make disciples… baptize them… and teach them to observe allContinue reading “OBSERVE ALL THINGS. Matthew 28:20.”