There’s a video that has been sparking a lot of attention these days. A few weeks ago it started appearing on Facebook pages. A few of our youth and college students have asked me my thoughts on it. This week I took some time to watch it and here’s what I think. Check out this link to see the “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus” video.

I think Jefferson Bethke makes some good points. Christ has come to put an end to sin. Hypocrisy is never a good thing and Jesus spoke out against it. As Christians we

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we live day in and day out. Our lifestyles are very busy and very regimented. In fact, it usually takes an illness or a snow day (not happening) to throw us off our routines. We are all creatures of habit and we certainly need predictable patterns to govern the orbit of our existence. There is a certain safety and comfort in the routine. In fact, it wouldn’t be a very healthy way of living if every day was a massive shake-up filled with unexpected chaos.

God is the One who created the patterns and rhythms of nature—seven days, 24 hours, four seasons. These patterns provide the contours for our living. They are predictable in their coming and going yet we do not know what will happen within the context of each day, week, and season.

Likewise, God is faithful in the rhythm of our living. Every day, week, and season, God is active and alive....

I read an interesting article this morning on why teens who argue with their parents are better off then teens that don’t. (Click here to read the article.) The basic argument of the article was that teens who feel like their parents listen to them during arguments and pattern a mature and respectable way to disagree are less likely to cave to peer pressure.

I think the real beauty in the parent and teen relationships that are being described is the elements of respect, honesty, acceptance, and love. You will never hear a teen proclaim it but that’s what they are secretly longing for. Let’s be honest, that’s what all people regardless of age want. We all want relationships that allow us to feel loved, accepted, and respected. We want to be in a community with people who allow us to be ourselves and feel free enough to be who they really are around us.

As Christians we don’t always have the reputation...

 Last Saturday night I took a group of our youth to Winter Jam in Raleigh. It is a huge Christian concert. We saw twelve different Christian artists perform. I went to the concert with the expectations of who I would enjoy and who I wouldn’t. I was not looking forward to Peter Furler. I had no clue who he was but the picture of him on the poster didn’t appeal to me. The moment he began to sing, I instantly changed my mind and I realized who he was. He used to be the front man for the Newsboys. I knew all the songs he did because they were the songs I grew up hearing in my own youth group. Our youth didn’t know any of the songs.

I would like to share the following verse from “O Holy Night” with you.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

 

“Prince of Peace” is the title we best know and remember about Jesus at Christmastime. Yet peace is a word that suffers from much misuse. We tend to use peace in mushy, meaningless ways. For example, while we may pray for peace in the war-torn areas of our world or cities, we don’t exactly envision peace in such a way that would require us to make a commitment toward justice and equality in our daily lives. Instead, we tame and domesticate peace into something small and safe, as in, “All I want is a little peace and quiet!” Or, “Can’t you just leave me in peace?”

Yet the peace of God is neither mushy nor meaningless. God’s peace is a word of power and transformation. The Bible invites us to explore all the dimensions of God’s peace—its shape, its flavor, and its ability to change our lives in radical ways.

Consider Jesus’ radical statement: “Do you think that...

I feel like the Children’s Christmas program is racing at me full steam ahead and I am no where ready for it. I imagine that many of you may be feeling that same way about Christmas in general. It sure is easy to get caught up in everything that requires our attention this time of year and forget what we are suppose to be celebrating. We devote ourselves to finding the perfect Christmas presents, preparing the best finger foods for the next party, attending a million and one Christmas parties, and sending Christmas cards out to everyone we have ever meet with a complete list of everything our family has done this year. We over stress and over plan until we suck all of the joy, love, hope, and peace out of Christmas.

This is your invitation to slow down and take a deep breath. Christmas isn’t about having a completed to do list on December 26th and being able to brag about the amazing presents you got everyone. (Those presents will end up being forgotten or broken before next Christmas anyway.) It is about...

For most people in American society today, the Christmas season begins the day after Halloween. I started hearing nonstop Christmas music on the radio the first week of November. But when I was a kid we never saw a Christmas decoration until after Thanksgiving. Now, professional marketers drive the great machinery of Christmas. Christmas is all about shopping, going to holiday parties, being with family, shopping some more, eating large meals, watching football games, getting in some deer hunting, school vacation, opening presents, returning presents, and doing more shopping at those after-Christmas sales. This time of year you’re as likely to be greeted with “Happy Holidays” as “Merry Christmas.”

Our modern celebration of Christmas does have a time for giving—and of course receiving. It is a time for reliving the magical story of flying reindeer and jolly old St. Nick, and...

This morning on Good Morning American I learned that today is World AIDS Day from Bono who was giving an interview on the subject. In that interview he said, “Don’t let the world’s poor become a political football.” That sounds an awful lot like something Jesus would say. After all Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us. It amazes me to think that God decided to be born into a poor family and spent the rest of his life hanging out with and loving the poor and the outcast. I imagine Jesus cared so much about them because they were his family and friends. They were more than a political issue or a nameless faceless person who lived somewhere over there. Jesus was one of them.

As the words of Bono and Jesus dance around in my head, I can’t help but think of the names and faces of the poor I have met and loved. I saw the face of Nikki a four year old from West Virginia from my first mission trip when I was fifteen. I thought about the cigarette burns she had on her legs and arms from an abusive parent and how much...

Last Sunday, I had the honor of preaching at the Community Thanksgiving service. It was a great night of worship, celebration, giving thanks, and fellowship will fellow Christians from different churches here in Mount Olive. I had a great time. For today’s blog I would like to share part of my sermon from that night.

“You are my brothers and my sisters and I am thankful for you. I am thankful that God is our Father and our relationship is made strong through Him. I am thankful that we can work together to share the love of our Father in this community.