Questions to consider while preaching/teaching this passage: -What does a sincere heart mean? -Guthrie indicates it means to be genuine, loyal, and real. Martin Rowe, 6 years old, lived on a small farm in rural Georgia. One day while riding on a tractor with his father the unthinkable happened; the tractor…

We desire perfection . Many of us are perfectionists at heart, including myself, and it can be terrible at times. We are also looking for the “perfect” product. Nothing and no one is perfect . No person can reach what we typically think of perfection. Perfect also means wholeness, complete, accomplished…

Change is hard . Even for those like me, who typically like change, it is hard to pull off. Negative consequences rarely motivates change. This seems counter-intuitive but research has shown this to be true. Alan Deutschman in his book titled, Change or Die, reveals this is not the case. Most of our…

We are comfortable with the known . This is a fact of life. What we know is typically better than what we do not know; at least in our heads. Sometimes we need a paradigm shift . This happens not because what we are doing is “bad” but that something “better” is on the scene. We have seen this when Henry…

What is true of individuals can be true of churches . This seems “natural” to me because churches are made up of individuals. What is true of us personally can be the truth of the church. Some traits are double-edged . They have both positive and negative qualities to them. Two qualities: contentment…

We all need someone. We cannot go in this world alone. Many of us try but it just doesn’t work. What is Christ up to now? This may be a question some are asking. Maybe we ought to be asking this question. We read in the Gospels what Jesus was doing on Earth but after the resurrection we do not always…

We are surrounded by bad news . It is everywhere we want to look. As I just read the headlines of the news from many sources each day I can be drawn in, not by the good nature of things but the eye catching negative story. Our thoughts become actions. Given enough time the thoughts which we think become…

Deep and lasting transformation is possible. We must remember and begin here. We become what we focus on. Be careful what you pay attention to, and who you pay attention to. The Gospel is essential . Thus being required, certain, and so forth. The Gospel is real . Jesus was a real person who spoke the…

Is it worth it? An interesting question and one that we may not want to ponder long. Will it be better or worse than 2020? A powerful question that may save us from much shame and failure. As I have reviewed 2020 and other years I want to encourage you teens, and adults alike, to ask this question more…