Tell Someone One of the things our Northside teenagers have been working on in small groups is learning how to articulate their faith. More specifically, they are learning how to articulate the Gospel. And it has made me think: How many of us could clearly explain the Gospel if someone simply asked us what it…

One of the things I love about our Northside church family is seeing people come together to serve. Sometimes it is in big ways, like painting a house, and sometimes it is something as simple as greeting a family, raking some leaves, or making a peanut butter sandwich. But on very special occasions, the service involves donating chocolate.

Right or Reconciled? You know the conversation. You had the facts on your side. Your argument was stronger, and when it was over, you had won. You were right. And something between you and that person has been cold ever since. That is the moment I want us to consider this week, because Scripture speaks…

Praying Hard for People We May Never Meet We know the Apostle Paul deeply loved his brothers and sisters in Philippi and he had a soft spot in his heart for the  Ephesians. Perhaps he worried the most about the Corinthians (four letters to that church!), but how about the Colossians? “…Since we heard of…

Be Careful Little Eyes “Be careful little eyes what you see…” Many of us learned that phrase in Sunday School. It comes from a simple song meant to teach children that what they look at matters and can have consequences. We understand why kids need that reminder. Their minds are impressionable. What they watch, hear,…

Standing on the Promises or Sitting on the Premises?   When I was five, my dad preached for a small mission congregation in Louisiana. For some reason, I thought it would make me look older to sit on the front pew, so I pestered Mom until she gave in. The first time I sat down front…

Can These Bones Live? The hand of the Lord was on Ezekiel, and the Spirit set him down in a valley full of bones. Not a few. A great many, and very dry. Then came the question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel did not pretend to know. He answered, “Sovereign Lord, you…

What Do We Know About ‘Temptation’? This past Sunday evening, we studied Matthew 18.7, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!  For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (ESV)  This article is a short word-study of ‘temptation’ in the New Testament (note: there is…

Within His Will  Recently, we were challenged as a congregation to make a better effort to pray throughout the rest of this year. Not simply to pray when something goes wrong or when we need God to fix a situation, but to become a people who are more consistently and intentionally devoted to prayer and…

Get Rid of Doublespeak  In the 1950s, a new word came into use the English language based on some terms coined by George Orwell in his novel, 1984. The new word was “doublespeak,” and it refers to words that appear at first glance to mean one thing but actually hide, or even reverse, their true…