When we consider how to approach those who are struggling, I believe most of us would agree that our disposition is of utmost importance. How many of us can look back with regret on a conversation we've had with someone grieving a lost loved one, bemoaning a challenging circumstance at work or home, or even struggling with a besetting sin and see where we were short, quick...

Well here it is...the holiday season. The traffic's getting busier, the office seems a bit more cheery, and, I confess, I'm playing Christmas music most of the time I'm in my car (at least until a few days before Christmas after I've overindulged in it). I've gotta say that I love this time of year. I love that many of us consciously spend more time with those we love. I l...

Recently, Sheree Phillips wrote a transparent and helpful post on the struggle of waiting for God. If you're like her (and me), then you probably have an aversion to waiting for just about anything. And the reality is that if you're a Westerner, you're probably just like us in this way. It's no new revelation that with our culture-wide embrace of fast food, fast cash, and ...

I love God's Word. I hope you do too. I love knowing that because of what Jesus accomplished for me in the gospel, earning my righteousness by living a perfect life, absorbing the penalty for my sin at the cross, and rising from the dead to secure my new life in him, I can sit at his feet and commune with the living God in a completely restored relationship. And I love tha...

I will offend you. And you will offend me. This is the harsh reality of life as a part of God's eternal kingdom while still living in our sinful flesh as inhabitants of our broken world. As brothers and sisters in Christ we will offend each other, and it will likely happen often. I wish this was not true, but both experience and Scripture validate this hard truth (see Matt...

I'm currently doing something that I rarely do: re-reading a book. Not that I am opposed this practice, but I suppose I believe there are just too many good books I haven't read to consider going through what I've found to be excellent books that are worthy of a second read. However, I am delighted to say that I'm going against my custom right now. Because for me, John Pip...

Something unexpected happened to me on Sunday morning. While I was preparing to teach for our children's ministry, Truth Miners, I was struck by the profundity of the passage I was about to teach from. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how God reveals to both young and old the same truths in profound ways. I was so affected by what I studied that I want to share s...

Like my good friend Alex Thermenos, you may have thought that last week's post was the final post in this series on making disciples. Now this is understandable. I mean, after touching base with the lost, talking to them, enjoying meals with them at your dinner table, teaching them how the gospel relates to their lives, tying them into the fellowship of the church, and cal...

This is what making disciples of Jesus all boils down to. In fact, there is a real sense in which this is the only absolutely necessary step in the process to making disciples. Everything about this process hinges on whether or not our lost friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors, by God's sovereign grace, place their trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, for their p...

In reading last week's post, some of you may have wondered how by yourself you could ever teach your lost friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers "all" that Jesus has commanded us (see Matt. 28:18-20). If that was you, there's good news: you don't have to do this alone. In fact, you shouldn't. The wonderful truth about our witness to the lost is that it is a comm...

A man is working hard in obscurity. His intent is to work in obscurity because any attention was bad attention (or so he thought). But he drew the attention of the Lord, who came to him and instructed him that he would be used to rescue his people from their oppressors. The Lord filled the man with strength and bravery, and miraculously everything the Lord said would happe...

If you've been with us at Redeemer Church for a bit, you may have heard us use the term "disciple-making disciple" as a way to encapsulate what we believe is our role as followers of Jesus in our God-created, fallen, yet redeemed and soon to be restored world. As I've explained elsewhere, as we seek to follow Jesus in his mission of redemption for the world, we are to draw...

For those of you who were not present to hear Jesse's message on Sunday, please do yourselves a favor and listen to it here. It was simply and profoundly inspiring. As he reminded us about God's relentless and merciful pursuit of us in our wanderings and rebellion, my soul was stirred afresh as I was reminded of the wonder and the power of God's great love for us, for me....

On Sunday, we completed our inspiring series through the book of Acts. In this second volume of Luke's theological history of the birth of the Spirit-filled church, we've seen over and over again the Holy Spirit indwelling and propelling the church forward to extend the bounds of God's kingdom. And as we were reminded about on Sunday, all of this came on the heals of God...

I was recently asked to succinctly describe my burden for Redeemer Church: I want to see God birth in us a rich culture of disciples who make disciple-making disciples....

Eric Garret's message on Isaiah 9 asking us where we find our hope. Is it in earthly things or in Jesus Christ?...