A Simple Word for Complex People

Understanding our pain seasons is critical for us to understand our identity and purpose in this world. God prunes us in the same was as He prunes the fruit-bearing branches in His vineyard. We must understand the cutting in order to bear it. The cutting always produces more and better fruit. Let's talk about it!

What does real love look like in a small church in rural Wisconsin? And why should we really care? I mean, we all know love when we see it, right? Let's talk about it!

There's a difference between charity and ministry. Our call is to help hurting people move from their lame season and into their leaping season. That means really seeing them as fellow children of God, and walking with them through their evolution from who they were, to who they are designed to be. Let's talk about it!

Yes, the Bible is loaded with inconsistencies -- but that doesn't mean it's not filled with truth. You wouldn't read a newspaper the same way in which you read poetry; you come to those works with different expectations. The Bible must be treated with the same respect ... read and understood in a manner very different from the way one reads and understands newspapers or history books. Only when we understand HOW to read the Bible can we then understand what we are reading. Let's talk about it!

Like Mary, when we seek Jesus, we may not recognize the Jesus we find. That's often because we look for the Jesus who used to be, rather than seeking Jesus as he appears to us today. Similarly, when you emerge from your tomb moments in life, people may come looking for the old you. But tombs are transformative, and your resurrected self looks different than your crucified self. Let's talk about it!

Two parades, but the same crowd. At the first, they shout HOSANNA! and at the second they shout CRUCIFY HIM! Do we do the same thing today when the outcome isn't what we expected? Let's talk about it!

God always goes first! We don't initiate a relationship with God, we respond to the relationship God establishes with us. Let's talk about it!

If you take your eyes off the destination, you'll get lost in the journey. That's great for day trips, but doesn't work so well as a life strategy. Let's talk about it!

"The message of the cross is foolishness." But, is forgiveness foolishness? It's a really difficult discipline, and frankly, we don't do it very well. But, as Christians, we're supposed to be in the forgiveness game. Let's talk about it! 

Abraham is lifted up as the exemplar of our faith in this text -- a man who trusted God before there were religious regulations that taught him how. That's a lot we can learn from Abraham. I pray you'll find a bit of yourself in his story today!