What does God want from me? In this episode, we see what the Bible says about the fundamental role of worship and the kind of worshipper for whom God is looking.

Runtime 7 minutes

Acknowledgements

Herod Antipas by James Tissot Wikipedia

Ice’s Ferry Bridge bridgehunter.com

Jesus Gives Peter Faith abcparish

Magi by James Tissot Wikipedia

Hands Raised in Worship re:Worship

The man behind the myth of Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas, a.k.a. “Sinterklaas”, the Bishop of Myra in what is now Turkey. His spirit of compassion and giving, became legendary and served as the inspiration for the myth of Santa Claus.

In Hebrews 12 we learn that the saints of the past are watching us today. They, like Jesus, are to inspire us to avoid distractions from serving God. One such saint, would certainly be Saint Nicholas.

If the legend of Santa Claus distracts or entangles in such a way that we lose sight of the significance of the Incarnation of Christ, dump the guy. But if Santa inspires us to selflessly and anonymously give to those less able to help themselves, I say he might be worth keeping around. We do not serve in the name of Santa, but in the name of Him who came to bring us peace on earth. Glory to God in the highest and have a merry Christmas

Deeper study: Ligonier Minstries on Santa Claus and Christians

Runtime 13 minutes

In the U.S., yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. As Christians, thanks comes from the heart and not by decree. I’m interrupting series two with these Thanksgiving thoughts – for Thanksgiving Day and every day.

Runtime 5 minutes

If you could choose anyone to teach us about prayer, whom would you choose? Billy Graham? Mueller? Mother Theresa? Edith Schaeffer? What if I were to tell you, that you could receive a lesson directly from Jesus? Based on the Bible, Jesus taught His disciples very specifically about prayer and two of them recorded those lessons.

Runtime 15 minutes

What if you could hear what God had to say to you? No middle man, God speaking to you? The answer is that you can. That is what the Bible is – God speaking to us. But how can we do a better job of listening? In this video, I break down the three main steps of Bible study. What does the passage say? What does it mean? How does this apply to me in my culture? Runtime 18 minutes

Even the most casual observer is aware that differences exist among those of us who claim to follow Jesus. One test of our love of Jesus is how we treat those who differ in areas not clearly defined by Scripture. Runtime 11 minutes

King David may not have been the first one to be moved to worship out of wonder at nature, but Psalm 19 gives me shivers when I read it. Hundreds of years ago another person had the same feelings I have when I witness nature. Are you an atheist? Or do the heavens pull your heart toward God? Romans 1:18-32 explains how we can lose our faith and moral compass. Let us keep our faith alive. (Runtime 19 min)

When we go down the control-freak-everything-has-to-be-my-way path, we confuse ourselves with God. When we expect a partner to fulfill our deepest needs, we confuse them with God.

Being human requires humility and grace. Both of which are gifts from the one true God. Gently forgiving and accepting the humanity of others is a Christian virtue. Gently forgiving and accepting our own humanity is also a Christian virtue. So is having the brains and self-respect to remove ourselves from dangerous or abusive environments. The art of keeping the door open without becoming the door mat, that’t the art of being human.

A little nostalgia for Borders Why not meet a friend for coffee?