All (Page 2) Articles 2019 Archives

Teach Us to Pray 07: Willing Life

by Phil Ware · Matthew 6:9-13

Phil Ware and Grady King bring us teaching and practical prayer strategies on praying for God's will to be done.

God's yearning to bring life runs thematically from the beginning of our Bibles in Genesis, to its conclusion in Revelation.

Buried?

by James Nored & Phil Ware · John 19:38-42 · Build · Buried

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that Jesus died and was buried and that his burial has special significance for us.

Jesus died. He was buried. He was raised from the dead. Each one of those facts reminds us that Jesus was not some antiseptic hero from a distance.

Teach Us to Pray 06: Kingdom Come

by Phil Ware · Matthew 6:9-13 · Kingdom

Phil Ware with Chad Higgins help us understand and commit to praying for God's Kingdom to come.

While we see glimpses of our universe's awe-inspiring beauty, variety, and magnificence, we also are witnesses of its brokenness.

We All Need Jesus!

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Colossians 1:18-23

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that we all needed Jesus' redemptive death on the cross so we could find new life in the grace of God.

Because we could not be

Teach Us to Pray 05: Holy Presence

by Phil Ware · Matthew 6:9-13 · Holiness

Phil Ware and Andy Johnson remind us how important reverencing God is when we pray.

We cry out together, as Jesus' followers and family, for God's holiness to make itself known in undeniable ways in our fallen world.

For the Unseen Heroes

by Tom Norvell · Luke 4:18-19 · Perseverance

Tom Norvel sees the folks who face uphill challenges and yet keep on keeping on and is amazed and thanks them and affirms them and wants to be more like them.

How do they do it? I see them, am amazed by them, and want to be more like them.

Teach us to Pray 04: Abba Father

by Phil Ware · Romans 8 · Abba Father

Phil Ware and Doug Peters remind us what it means to pray to God as our Abba Father and then give us some pratical ways that we can experience God as Abba in our prayer life.

How do we combine both reverence and familiarity, respect and intimacy?

Teach Us to Pray #3: Together Experience

by Phil Ware · Matthew 6:9-13

Phil Ware, with the help of Grady King, reminds us that prayer is a together experience in much of experience and God calls us to share this experience together, then Grady King gives us some added insight and an exercise to help us through the next week.

When Jesus taught on prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, he shifted from individual prayer in private to prayer shared with others

Decision Time: Who Do I Say That Jesus Is?

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Matthew 26 · Crucifixion

James Nored and Phil Ware share in word and video the meaning of Jesus' trials before Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish Ruling Council.

Jesus' trials focused on his true identity.

Teach Us to Pray #2: Prayer School

by Phil Ware · Matthew 6:5-9 · Lord's Prayer

Phil Ware, with the help of Chad Higgins, continues his series on Lord Teach Us to Pray focusing on learning from Jesus.

Growing in prayer, feeling a connection with the Father, and being formed to be a useful vessel for Jesus to use to bless others is a journey.

Unless a Seed

by James Nored & Phil Ware · John 12:22-27 · Crucifixion

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the dark night that began the long, painful, and lonely journey of Jesus through his Passion to bring us to God.

Jesus had many opportunities to walk away from the shame and pain of the cross, but he chose the Father's will and our need over his comfort.

Teach Us to Pray #1: Devotion

by Phil Ware · Acts 1:14 · Prayer

Phil Ware continues his series on prayer this week, focused on the early church's devotion to prayer that they learned from Jesus.

When Luke summarized the heart of the early church, he chose to highlight one particular word —

Beyond Religious Places, Practices, and Rituals

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Matthew 23

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the deadly consequences of a religion that forgets the love of God for broken people and mission Jesus has for us to the lost world.

We must always remember that God's love for broken people and our call to his mission must matter most.

Teach Us to Pray Intro: Don't Just Do Something...

by Phil Ware · Acts 1:14 · Prayer

Phil Ware begins a series of messages built around the disciples' request to Jesus to teach them to pray with today focusing on our need to pray first.

'I wish I had time just to sit around and pray,' my friend said. He walked away in a huff!

Truly See the Coming King

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Mark 10:45 · Messiah

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that many were blind to Jesus as the Messiah because he refused to be the kind of Messiah they expected; he was the upside down Messiah.

A King headed to a cross, the foal of a donkey, and a formerly blind man who followed along the way.

Jesus Smiled

by Phil Ware · Colossians 4 · Reconciliation

Phil Ware reminds us of John Mark's failure when he deserted the mission field and the mission team and describes how God used this mess and the grace, mercy, and love of godly men to bring great good out of potential disaster.

Our God is the God of surprising opportunities, fresh hope, and new life.

Upside Down Messiah

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Mark 8 · Servant

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us in word and video how upside down Jesus' values are to the way we often do things in our world and in our churches.

As much as we don't want to admit it, we often miss the way of the upside down Messiah as badly as his first disciples.

Three Fires

by Phil Ware · John 18 · Holy Spirit · Fire

Phil Ware reminds of three fires in the life of the apostle Peter and what they can mean for us.

Jesus doesn't abandon us in our fire failure.

Who Do YOU Say I Am?

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Matthew 16:13-18 · Lord

James Nored and Phil Ware challenge us to answer the same question Jesus asked his first followers at Caesarea Philippi: 'Who do you say I am?'

At a place with great spiritual and physical significance, Jesus challenged his followers to decide about his identity.

Skipping Communion?

by Phil Ware · John 17:1-26 · Reconciliation

Phil Ware reflects on the words of Jesus, the actions of the apostle Paul, and the example of a couple of men in his life, all focused on the theme of reconciliation.

Jesus didn't pray for unity just so Christians could sit in a happy circle, hold hands, and sing Kum Ba Yah around the campfire at church camp.

To the Least, Like Jesus

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Matthew 25:40-45 · Life · Least

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that we not only must become like children, but as Jesus' followers, we must value children.

Largely, in the days when Jesus came, children were only valued if they were wanted.

Shape Your Worries into Prayer

by Tom Norvell · Philippians 4:6-7 · Anxiety

Tom Norvell reminds us to take our worries, our concerns, our troubles, and turn them into prayers and praises.

In those times of restlessness and anxiety, where do we turn for relief?

Whatever Happened to the Gift of Affirmation?

by Phil Ware · Luke 3:21-22 · Affirm

Phil Ware shares insight into affirmation of God's leaders from the life of Jesus and the ministry of Paul.

What I had missed was the human element of this event in Jesus' life. The heavenly Father was affirming his Son!

Through Every Storm

by James Nored & Phil Ware · Matthew 8:23-37 · Fear

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that the storms of life can engulf us, surround us, buffet us, and even terrify us, but Jesus will not abandon us in our storms and will eventually bring us to safety, peace, and calm.

Jesus wants us to invite him into our storms so he can speak peace to our panic and hope to our dread.

Free to Become

by Phil Ware · 2 Corinthians 3:18 · Holy Spirit

Phil Ware reminds us on the eve of Independence Day in the U.S. and movements all around the world striving for freedom, that the Holy Spirit gives us the greatest freedom of all!