Word for the Week

What’s your plan for 2015? How do you hope to improve your life and build toward the future? What better way than by turning to the Sacred Writings of God’s written Word—the Bible?

There's one word that is at the core of what Christmas is all about and why it brings us hope--GRACE!

Immanuel is the name given in prophesy to Jesus. It means "God come near." Here's how you can do that this season for those around you...

It's easy to lose the mystery and majesty beind Christmas. Don't let the following three things happen to you!

Today's podcast will be from my series, God at the Movies—a special feature of this podcast. Today we'll take a look at the 2013 thriller, Captain Phillips, directed by Paul Greengrass, and starring Tom Hanks. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Did you know that Jesus talked more about money than he did Heaven or Hell? Over 140 times, in fact! The only thing he talked more about was the Kingdom of God. One of the biggest things we spend (lose) money on in American culture is our cars. We are a car-crazy culture. We love them, but at the same time we have all felt the frustration of feeling like our cars--and the payments we make on them--have owned us at one point or another. Recently I was trying to make a decision about buying a new car, or putting money into an 8 year old car I have. I came across a great blog, www.cashcarconvert.com. The site offered a ton of content and research that was helpful. I wrote the author, James Kinson, and sought his advice. I was so impressed with his detailed response and the sound guidance he gave me I asked him for an interview.

There are over 6,000 runaways reported each year in Dallas, TX; and within 48 hours of running away from home 1 out of 3 of those children are lured into sex trafficking. It’s an astonishing reality that is disturbing to hear. In this episode I interview Bryan Eck, one of the lead pastors at Irving Bible Church, a large church in a diverse suburb of Dallas, that is making a difference in the lives of those individuals who have been traumatized by this tragedy.

Bryan started out in not for profit work as an executive in the YMCA in NYC before God radically transformed his life and redirected him to Dallas where he began working as a pastor. Bryan tells the story of how God rescued him from the wreckage of his personal life and redeemed his loss, failure and brokenness, and turned it into something he would never have dreamed of.

Bryan’s story is a reminder that God is bigger than any tragedy, loss or failure, and that He can do anything in the lives of those who are willing to let him in.

I recently observed a retirement ceremony for Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Hunt. I had never met him before, but as I sat through the ceremony I was moved by the weight of the positive legacy he had built through his life. I asked Michael for an interview because I wanted to learn more about how he built his life in light of his faith. In this interview he shares some of the struggles he faced in his military career, how his faith has carried him through, and a story that has never left him the same.

In this episode I introduce the topic of legacy. I have been working through a book by Donald Miller called Storyline Finding Your Subplot in God's Story. I share some of what I'm learning from this book as I consider my own legacy and what it means to leave a good one.