1 Peter 4:1-9

"The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for..."

"The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for..."

Are you clean enough to leave a message? God's people are best noticed when they leave a trail of kind deeds and acts of grace behind, cleaning up a dingy world gone bad.

Some negative descriptions actually may be good! Russ Lawson takes a gag gift he received from his kids and reminds us that it is OK to be an old coot if this means being different from the world.

Is your home and heart open to others? We must open our homes to others!

Does peer pressure have you doing the wrong thing? Don't let peer pressure make you do what is wrong; just do the right thing.

How do you handle being rejected because you are a Christian? There are times when we are going to be rejected because we are Christians.

Why in the world would someone want to be an umpire? If you want something bad enough, you go for it and do whatever it takes to do it, even if no one understands you.

What are we really promising people in our churches? Phil Ware shares an experience where a small town was way over hyped and didn't live up to its advertising and compares it to what happens in our churches and encourages us to build God's community.

"Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful...."

What happens if your best isn't good enough? Mike Barres reminds us that we all reach times in our lives when our best efforts are not enough, but God can do what needs to be done if we will persevere, fast, and pray.

"Dear Friends, Years before Peter wrote his short letter known as 1 Peter to My disciples, he was repeatedly persecuted. He regularly encountered..."

Why is there so much fussing and fighting over spiritual gifts? Phil Ware continues his series on the Holy Spirit called SpiritFire and focuses on the issue of spiritual gifts.

When others say unkind things about people, what do you say? Max Lucado reminds us that love protects when others speak untruth, spread gossip, or destroy reputations.

When's the last time you welcomed someone in? We have been brought into the circle of God's grace and we must graciously bring others in as well.

Are we looking in the right places to find happiness for ourselves? Teresa Bell Kindred reminds us that what we define as happiness is nearly always temporary pleasure that is soon gone and leaves us unhappy; happiness is really on our own shoulders.