Articles Tagged 'Grief'

God of Fresh Starts

Hope is an olive leaf — evidence of dry land after a flood.

Max Lucado reminds us that the God of hope gives us fresh starts just as he did to Noah with the olive leaf and the dove.

Thanksgiving!

How do we keep our concerns for the future and our hardships from the last two years of Covid 19 from stealing the joy of our Thanksgiving?

Phil Ware reminds us to keep thanksgiving a part of our daily lives even though we face challenging times, difficult circumstances, and discouraging realities.

This Sanctuary

I think if I had known all we would face, I couldn't have breathed. Except for one thing. God would be with us.

Melissa Troyer writes powerfully and poignantly about the journey she and her husband, Daniel, have traveled to live love and mission and family, together, finding God as their sanctuary.

The Way of Jesus #6: Buried

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.

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that Jesus died and was buried and that his burial has special significance for us and how they helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

'My Child, Get Up!'

Most of our earth-bound explanations are shallow and trite in the face of life's harshest realities.

Phil Ware pauses and looks at the pain of grieving parents at the loss of a child and reminds us to forgo easy answers and cling to the stories and promises of Jesus.

Buried

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.

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

ToGather: Full Adoption into God's Family (August 23, 2020)

We are God's precious and highly valued adopted children!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead through worship in song, the Lord's Supper, a powerful message from God's word, and a blessing to enable us to worship from home or with family and friends in a meaningful way and ask this important question: Can I rea

Our Chorus is the Gospel

'The verses are the blues, the chorus is the gospel.'

Patrick Odum picks up a line from a Bruce Springsteen interview and helps us understand the need for being real about our struggles but also celebrating our hope in the gospel.

Buried?

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.

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

He Wept!

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus’s sisters were grieving and disappointed.

Tom Norvell reminds us that Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus and the grief of his two sisters.

Jesus Came to Be One of Us!

We desperately need to push past the glitz of the season and remember the gritty grace of the manger and the glory of God incarnate in a helpless baby who came to be one of us!

James and Phil continue their series on The Story of Redemption by focusing on the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.

Our Weakness, God's Power

He should have left him for the buzzards. He should have sent him to hell. But he didn’t. He sent him to the lost.

Max Lucado writes to remind us of our need to surrender our anxiety, and everything else, to Jesus and let him change our name and our future.

Through the Eyes of Jesus

How differently might we respond to his call if we truly realized that we are far more precious to him than any son or daughter could be to a loving mommy or daddy?

Phil Ware begins a series of 13 messages on Vision by talking about his own son and daughter and how he had dreams for them as children.

Willing to Be Powerful

Dear God in heaven, we’d sure like to have a little bit of power to alter our irrelevance, lighten the burdens of others, and heal the wounds of the broken and despairing.

Phil Ware writes out of the context of recent disasters and the loss of a mother and child to remind us that being a servant, offering ourselves in sacrificial love, is never a waste!

One of Us!

Jesus didn't come to earth to be protected from life's harshest realities, but entered into mortality to share it all with us — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the painful!

James and Phil continue their series on The Story of Redemption by focusing on the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.

Honesty with God on Our Journey of Faith

Thankfully the Bible is honest about the flaws of our heroes so we can know that we can be a person of faith useful to God, too!

James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that Abraham's journey of faith wasn't easy, his life was not perfect, and his questions for God were real.

Primal Fears

Instinctive? Maybe. Pervasive? Absolutely! Primal fears have plagued humanity for as long as we have told stories and laid awake at night... afraid!

Phil Ware looks at Jesus and how he brings us victory over our worst fears as adults.

I Doubt It: Never Die

Can Jesus really promise us that we will never die?

Phil Ware continues his "I Doubt It" series focused today on Jesus' promise to Mary that those who believe in him will never die.

I Doubt It: You Feed Them

Will we hold a miracle in our hands? My experience says, “Yes!”

Phil Ware continues his series on 'I Doubt it' focusing this week on Jesus' challenge to the apostles to feed the five thousand.

After the Crowd Has Gone

Thanksgiving is over; so what do we do now as we return to the challenges of life?

Phil Ware reminds us that Jesus gave us a great example on how to deal with the challenges we face after a great thanksgiving feast.

'My Child, Get Up!'

In the face of such hard grief, what do we have to offer?

Phil Ware pauses and looks at the pain of grieving parents at the loss of a child and reminds us to forgo easy answers and cling to the stories and promises of Jesus.

Anger Lives in Sorrow's House

Underneath our grief lurks the monster of anger waiting to tear into us.

Max Lucado reminds us that sorrow can open the door for anger to overwhelm us because we cannot figure out why bad things happened, but we hold onto the reality that God is good.

Finding Contagious Joy

How can we move from contingent joy through courageous joy to contagious joy?

Max Lucado reminds us that contagious joy is rooted in courageous joy and not contingent joy, and our courageous joy is rooted in Jesus and faith in what God did through Jesus.

Losing Your Footing?

What do you do when you lose your grip?

Rubel Shelly reminds of where to go in our troubling times.

Sometimes There Are No Answers

What do you do when you can't figure out the answer?

Tom Norvell reminds us that there are a lot of questions in life that we cannot get answers to; but more than answers, we need God's presence.