January 31, 2012
"The gospel, applied to our hearts every day, frees us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don't have to play defensive games anymore. We don't have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can say we told a lie instead of saying we exaggerated a bit. We can admit an unforgiving spirit instead of continuing to blame our parents for our emotional distress. We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross. With the assurance of total forgiveness through Christ, we have no reason to hide from our sins anymore."...
January 6, 2012
I'm at a season of life where it seems like it's time to slow down. Nothing is working quite right anymore. I need glasses for aging eyes and anti-inflammtories for aging joints. I forget names and what commonly used household gadgets are called. Solitude invites me to steal away (which I enjoy doing at times!) while a growing family and new church lovingly require me to get even busier than ever. The commercials say Benny and I should be anticipating retirement after all the years of being in the throes of parenting and pastoring. Sometimes I envy those who can....
September 9, 2014 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, Racism, cultural values, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, the gospel, Muslim, redeemer blog, social issues, cultural issues, preaching the gospel, evangelize, church blog, duck dynasty, Islam, ISIS
There are reasons to respect Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family at the center of AMC’s blockbuster hit Duck Dynasty. He was a good enough athlete to start over 4-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw while in college even though he didn’t think much about practice. He was, by his own admission, a borderline alcoholic and druggie until he was miraculously sav...
Keep ReadingAugust 1, 2014 by | Category: Current Events | Tags: Israel, Palestine, Middle East, peace, Suffering, soveriegnty, Revelation, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, bible, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, Conflict, lee vista, lee vista church, cultural values, redeemerchurch, redeemer, the gospel, Muslim, redeemer blog
I forget things all the time. Just ask my husband. He has formed a habit of following behind me whenever we leave somewhere, whether it’s a restaurant or a friend’s house, to grab my phone, keys, and wallet that I left behind. My forgetfulness is my dad’s fault (right, Mom?), or so I claim. I tend to forget other things, too. I tend to look at what is going on around...
Keep ReadingJuly 10, 2014 by Julie Brackin | Category: Cultural Values | Tags: testimony, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, lee vista, cultural values, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, the gospel, conference, tgcw14, Islam, Muslim, redeemer blog
Walking purposefully along the winding sidewalk towards the host hotel for my final day at The Gospel Coalition’s national women’s conference, I was stopped by an inquisitive taxi driver who looked at my name tag and asked me what was going on inside. As if to aid me in my answer, I held out my nametag for him to read and replied “It’s an event put on by The Gospel...
Keep Reading