Looking toward Churches 14 through 26 The next thirteen churches on my list promise a wider variety of experiences. This excites me. Our journey is about growth and discovery, not about thoroughly covering every option in a precise order...
God as a Vine Another word picture to help us better understand God is that he is the vine and we are the branches. In this, God is revealed as the source of nourishment, the giver of life, and the means of support, sustenance, and existence. For...
Jeremiah Issues Three Warnings to Church Leaders Beware of Slacking Shepherds, Godless Pastors, and Misleading Ministers The prophet Jeremiah doesn’t just warn the people about judgment for their sins, he also warns their religious leaders too...
God’s Guardrails: His Instructions Are to Benefit Us and Not Limit Us Running Barefoot in the Snow In my book Woodpecker Wars, I tell the story of our children running barefoot in the snow. Here’s what happened. One day I painfully realized that...
Key Questions from Churches 1 through 13 We’re one-quarter of the way through our journey of visiting 52 churches in a year. It’s been more than I’d hoped for and at the same time, not as much of what I expected. Consider these two discussion...
What is the Spirit of Truth? One of the things I enjoy when studying the Bible is to investigate words and phrases that are repeated throughout its pages. The phrase “Spirit of Truth” is one such example that jumps out at me and begs further...
Avoid Spiritual Adultery, of Being Unfaithful to God Jeremiah Compares the People’s Relationship with God to a Cheating Spouse The prophet Jeremiah, along with many other writers in the Bible, accuse God’s people of spiritual adultery. They are...
Give Us Our Daily Bread Carefully Consider What You Ask of God Each Day When You Pray When Jesus’s disciples asked him to teach them how the pray, he gave them a prayer (Luke 11:1-4). Though many people recite this prayer exactly as the Bible...
An Effective Pastor Team This church has no website and a blank Facebook page. The lack of information online discourages me. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #13: 1. The pastor welcomes us warmly. He’s expecting us because...
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life The source of life, truth, and the way to Father God is through Jesus The disciple Thomas wants to go where Jesus will go but doesn’t know how to proceed. He seeks clarification. Jesus gives him a five...
