Romans 5

Can you hang on till the right time? God sends us help at just the right time.

How has he left his imprint on you? Jesus has split time in two and had an even greater impact on our lives and hearts.

Holy ground — without brokenness, there would be no healing or hope or grace. So, thank you, Abba, for reserving a place for us, just for us, at the curb with you. Ron Rose talks about how everything he and Lyn set out by the curb was reclaimed and reused by someone else, which is what God has done with us when we have been broken and discarded.

Hope is the life in our veins, the breath in our lungs and the courage for tomorrow. Melissa Troyer looks at our cold world as we ensure the cold of later winter and trust life will come back in the Spring and reminds us to trust life is coming.

Where do you get the perspective to praise God during tough times? Kimberli Brackett reminds us that even in the worst of circumstances, God is at work trying to make something out of our situation and we can see if we will praise God and ask for his perspective.

What will you find at the side of the road this time of year? Road trash and tire debris challenges Phil to remember exactly who it was that Jesus reached and ask why we don't reach them today?

Are you ready to see The Passion? Be prepared before you go see the Passoin of the Christ; know what you are going to see and know how you are going to use it.

Do we really need either of these? Absolutely yes! Rubel Shelly writes about Pope Francis and the year of pardon for abortion and other sins that is available and how the world doesn't seem to get sin and wrong doing and guilt.

Why are our relationships with God such a mess, with each other full of conflict, and with our world so destructive? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that sin, both rebellion and missing God's goal of goodness for us, has reaped destruction on all we touch.

Will you share the umbrella? Taking a dog out for a walk proves to be a convicting moment about our stupidity in not staying close to God.

What do you do when you don't have the strength to do the next thing? Tom Norvell writes about powerlessness and how we have God with us to help us overcome.

It took several years for him to dig out of the hole he made for himself with his lack of appreciation for grace and his own need of it. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us that not only is God's grace available in his love and mercy but also that mercy and grace is available to all, even the worst of sinners, like you and me!

We come with bad habits, wounds, and all sorts of unfortunate baggage. It takes awhile for us to unlearn them! Phil Ware shares a powerful story about his foster grandson and how that helps us understand what it means to be adopted into God's family.

What do you do when you've been wronged? Forgiveness is not easy, but it is God's way.

Something cost a lot more than advertised. The costs shown by the war memorials in Washington, D.C., remind us that freedom isn't free.

We are all damaged and divided, and there seems to be a whole bunch of us who've become professional pretenders and posers, desperately seeking to be little tin gods who want to be in charge. Ron Rose is back having conversations over coffee, and including all people and their stories in his conversations whether or not he agrees with them.

Can we keep from being disappointed by broken hopes? No matter how desperate things can seem, God has given the ability to hope in him through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We say, “No! Don’t wash their feet, Jesus. Tell them to wash Yours!” Max Lucado writes reminding us of our need for being washed and made clean by Jesus.

Would you have gone looking for Leslie? Tammy remembers a strange person welcomed at her church and how important it is to love all the Leslie's in our life.

Proven love can grow strong and holy passion can send sparks into the air! Ann Voskamp writes about how much she loves her husband and why their passion still is as deep as it ever was.

Can you be captured by freedom and grace? Phil Ware uses the climactic moment in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" where he is told to "earn it" to emphasize the difference between grace and obligation.

What's your excuse? Ron Rose talks about Napoleon Dynamite and his skills and reminds us that we don't have enough skills, but God does!

Are you ready for the hard chill that's coming? We can survive times of trouble, trials, and temptation if we prepare.

How can we overcome the problems in our lives? Life is filled with problems and some don't go away with just a prayer so we have to find a way to get past it.

Why intentionally face hard opponents? Phil Ware shares insight on the challenges of trials and sufferings and also on the desire and passion to have God's character produced in our lives through perseverance in times that are hard and facing opponents that are challenging.

On this Christmas Day as we bring this year's journey to an end, the question you need to ask is as important to answer as it is simple to ask! James Nored and Phil Ware challenge us to faith in the eternal God who chose to reveal himself by becoming human and living in our world

God chose to come to us, suffer at our hands, and sacrifice himself so we could know the depth of God's redeeming love for us. Phil Ware shares Scriptures and James Nored shares an inspirational video regarding the blessings and significance of Advent, Jesus' coming to earth as God in human flesh as our Savior and Lord.

God perched His grace on a tree of torture in the middle of humanity's worst abuses so that grace would be available to everyone... even you! James Nored and Phil Ware explore the wonderfully unsettling nature of God's grace and His desire to make it accessible to everyone.

Where do you think you'll find real trust? Trial, temptation, trouble, and testing are in the same neighborhood with trust: we're not going to get the one we want without experiencing the ones we dont!

How do you feel when the gift you gave is not appreciated? Sometimes our gifts are treated with contempt, other times are misused, but either way, we are most like God when we give without strings attached.

How do you get un-stuck? Stuck in an airport trying to get home, Phil realizes several lessons about getting un-stuck spiritually.

Does pain really serve a useful purpose? Pain is not always bad -- it is necessary to help us know where we need to change and be changed by the Father.

As we bring this year's journey to an end, the question you need to ask is as important to answer as it is simple to ask! James Nored and Phil Ware challenge us to faith in the eternal God who chose to reveal himself by becoming human and living in our world

Most important things require us to hang in and hang touch to get to our destination! So often we look for short cuts or ways to cut corners to get to a goal that can only be reached by hard work, perserverance, and a willingness to keep on working over time.

The challenge is to help others celebrate Jesus 365 days a year. Brian McCutchen shares with us about the need for Christmas to continue year round.

Are you ready for the long hard chill of winter? Phil Ware talks about the harshness of a long, cold, hard winter and the trials and troubles we must endure as believers.

With Jesus' arrest under torchlight, the end for darkness' reign drew near. Phil Ware concludes his four-part series on Jesus' Passion called seed, towel, promise, and torchlight.

Why would you cheer against your own team? Rubel Shelly describes a better football game than the Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and this was between two high school teams, Grapevine Faith Christian and Gainesville State.

How could I feel at home so far away from home? Phil Ware looks at Romans 15:7 and shares an experience from Thailand about feeling accepted and connected to people very different from himself.

Are you touched by the cost? Our freedom has always been paid for by somone!

Can hope really survive in such a tough time? There is great power of child-like hope when empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Not only can we begin the New Year as a fresh start, but we can also be made new — from the inside out — each day as we follow Jesus! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos and inviting us to continually be made new from the inside out.

What blessing can there be in powerlessness? Life is full of events that make us feel and actually be powerless, but that is exactly where God can work in our life the most.

Jesus provided us the few simple words we need to return us to that place of righteousness in the eyes of our Father: “Forgive us our debts.” Phil Ware, with Chad Higgins, reminds us of the power of the simple words 'Forgive us our debts' and give us a daily practice to emphasize the power of these words.

Jesus died in the place of Barabbas. More importantly, Jesus died for you and me. Byron Ware recalls a memory from fifty years ago that shaped his life, his love, his family, and his understanding of grace, Jesus dying in the place of Barabbas and us.

Why we should we be thankful, cheerful, and generous in a world full of negativity! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to live generous lives of grace where we are joyful recipients of God's grace and cheerfully generous in our acts of mercy.

How are we to respond to such an extravagant gift? Phil Ware thinks through the implications of Jesus' death for us.

Isn't it time for a little church remodeling? Phil Ware continues his series on The Story and focuses on the church at Antioch and the grace that empowered the church to be all God intended it to be.

How can I take this bread and wine as someone worthy? Phil Ware reminds us that we share in The Supper, not because we are worthy of Jesus' sacrifice, but because we've been made worthy by his sacrifice!

If an event is epoch-changing, part of the dynamic that makes the event so transformational is the timing. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware combine to bless us with a powerful message on the timing of Jesus' coming and death as well as a virtual worship service focused on our right on time Savior.

People "stand for" or "stand on" many things that waste their time, efforts, and lives on causes that don't really matter. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos encouraging us to stand in grace.

Why do we so easily swallow the lure for the quick fix? Rubel Shelly warns us about the lure of the quick fix and reminds us that there are no short cuts to what is valuable and that perseverance is necessary for character.

Who are you? Despite the ugliness we know lies within us, we are treasured and precious to God.

How rescuing stray dogs makes me think of Jesus. We are like stray dogs: unwanted, not clean, wounded. Jesus brings us home to His family.

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

Let's live out God's gift of grace by celebrating God's goodness, loving Jesus, and obeying what the Lord taught as we love, serve, and treat others as our Savior did! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online, virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us and help us celebrate and live in appreciation to the grace of God.

Jesus' trials focused on his true identity, although those who tried him didn't really want to know the truth. James Nored and Phil Ware share in word and video the meaning of Jesus' trials before Pilate, Herod, and the Jewish Ruling Council and how they helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

Becoming like God in His most known virtue! Phil Ware continues his series on what is core and focuses on love and what it is and how Jesus and God demonstrate it.

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

Rather than taking God's lavish grace for granted, we choose to offer ourselves to God and walk away from sin. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of all that we have received from God through grace and how we must say no to sin because we have been so blessed!

Before Jesus, the word 'agape' didn't mean anything special. It was a sloppy word for 'love' pretty much like our English word 'love' as we use it today. Phil Ware reminds us where the word 'agape' really gets its meaning, in what God did for us in Jesus and that we must love God first if we are to love others properly.

Core to following Jesus is becoming like God in offering love, first. Phil Ware continues his series on what is core and focuses on love and what it is and how Jesus and God demonstrate it.

We not only live in the overflow of grace, we are now the flow of that grace into the lives of those around us. Phil Ware reminds of the importance and power of grace and that we can live out of the overflow of this grace and bless others.

In the middle of our grief, loss, and brokenness, we must remember that we are not alone in our brokenness. Phil Ware reminds us that God shares our pain in our worst moments of grief and loss, God is heartbroken with us.

Because we could not be 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.

Are we really letting our love light shine in a world filled with so much darkness? Byron Ware reminds us that in our world of darkness, now more than ever, we need to be a people who do put love into practice every day.

Do more than try to hang onto love. Let's God's love Hang on to you! Max Lucado reminds us to accept and receive the love God longs to give us.

What time is it in your life? Tom Norvell reminds us that God saved us through grace in Jesus at just the right time and has intervened in our lives at just the right time over and over again.

God is in the room and has placed hope on a buffet platter right here, right now. Ron Rose is back at Black Rifle coffee and visiting and reflecting with others who have gone through rough times and found lasting hope.

What's good about the AC going out in summer? Sometimes God's greatest blessings are seen when things don't go exactly like we like them.

Can you still believe you can fly with broken wings? Ann Voskamp shares a powerful story about the first Sunday of Advent and butterflies and a friend with a broken heart.

Could you afford the price of this gift? We couldn't pay the debt of our sin, so God paid it for us in Jesus, but will we accept this gift?

Can you find your Bible in the list? While there are many specialty Bibles, the Bible is really written for only one group of people: sinners.

Sometimes we need more than a lifeline Lenny Skutnik dove into the Potomac River to save a woman too weak to grasp the lifeline she's been thrown. In the same way, God reached out to save us when we were powerless.

Can't I just keep a little of my life protected from this? Phil Ware takes the two love commands of Jesus, the Greatest Commands, and applies them to all of life for a follower of the Lord.

Better check those tax forms one more time If we try to earn our own salvation, we will never have peace with God. Peace comes from accepting his free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Are we really willing to make Jesus the center of our life. Phil Ware reminds us that Jesus is the center of everything, our salvation, our time, our hope, but will we make Jesus the center of our lives?

Where does the power to keep hoping come from? God continually renews our hope through the Holy Spirit.

What is the greatest Valentine you have ever received? Quotations from Scripture about God's love for us in Jesus.

Peace be with you Peace with God comes through trusting in Jesus, trusting in His love and His care for us.

God isn't going to accept anything we offer him — our hearts, our Sunday worship, our offerings, our praise, our hopes, our private prayers, our dreams — if we knowingly remain at odds with a brother or sister in Christ. Phil Ware takes the two love commands of Jesus, the Greatest Commands, and applies them to all of life for a follower of the Lord.

How do we have an infectious love of people and life that it changes us and those around us? Brian McCutchen reminds us of the joyous and infectious virtues of a heart gladly surrendered to Jesus, like Michelle's.

Why do people cheat in academics, in their financial dealings, and even in their relationships? We can never be good enough on our own; it takes God's help to make us what we should be.

Status-seeking and a lust for superiority and power over others cannot be part of the Jesus lifestyle! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in online virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to have a heart for God's people and to serve them in love.

Can you find value in what has been discarded? We can reclaim those who have been discarded and reclaim them for God.

What have you found lately? Finding things no one else sees is great, but being found by God is better.

What if we approached life as if the spiritual was the most real world? Russ Lawson has a claustrophobic experience with an MRI machine and it teaches him a lot about who he is and what God is doing in his life.

What does pure religion really look like? Phil Ware continues his series connected to his blog about the his mission trip to Peru with his wife Donna and the children they touched.

Jesus isn't calling us to keep a list of do's and don'ts; he is challenging us to obey the Father from our hearts, in love. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and that he was not giving us a list of do's and don't do's, but was calling us to put into practice the way of God from the heart.

The description of the Good Shepherd in John 10 aligns beautifully with Jesus' definition of serving and giving himself to bless us in Mark 10. Phil Ware continues his thoughts on becoming JesuShaped disciples, this week focusing on the horrors of the litany of spiritual abuse cases in the news and how different they are from Jesus’ definition of a JesuShaped leader and godly shepherd.