Jesus was and is, as is the gospel, a tender plant – a root out of dry ground.

According to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Santa bases his gifts on an entirely different perspective than Jesus does when he comes to town.

It’s almost as hard removing a false image from one’s mind as it is to avoid judging “the hell” out of others on the basis of their external appearance.

What are the most important priorities in your life?

Marvel with us about the truth of the advice Billy’s grandmother gave him – “When the game is over, it all goes back in the box.”

We are GIVEN not just any victory, but THE victory “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Our victory is GIVEN by the grace of God, who graciously allows us to be part of his plan, but we are not THE plan – Jesus is THE plan.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan yields remarkable insights into the giving way of life lived in us by our Lord and Savior.

Our spiritual transformation, regeneration and new life into a living hope is “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3).

Christ-less religion is status quo, expected, regularly scheduled programming – whereas the gospel of Jesus Christ is “breaking news” – incredible, wonderful and amazing news of Jesus who is “the way and the truth and the life.”

Is our 21st century infatuation with information making our world a better place? Do our addictions to information retrieval systems and our desire for electronic connectivity endanger wisdom?

It’s possible for prayer to become an overwhelming monologue so that we are so busy talking we can’t hear or perceive God’s answers.

The problem with repentance is that no one ever believes themselves to be wrong so they have nothing to repent of or about.

While many foresee God making his will known through dramatic “acts of God” he often works in ways we would not expect. He came to Elijah in a whisper, rather than in the powerful wind, earthquake or fire.

If you don’t fall down and worship before the golden calf you will be asked to leave the sacred place of religion. When push comes to shove, religious authorities often ex-communicate and un-invite those who follow Jesus Christ.

Bruce Springsteen sings “Everybody’s got a hungry heart.” There are two places for us to dine, seeking spiritual nourishment – The Grace Café and The Karma Café.

Christ followers are never alone – their faith is centered in Jesus alone and Jesus is always with them and in them.

We can either place our primary trust in earthly treasures or in heavenly treasures, and the process of accumulating and receiving those treasures couldn’t be more different.

Contentment is not gained or achieved, even through the rigors and rituals of religion.   Contentment is a gift of God.

If you don’t know where you are going, in all probability you will wind up somewhere else – where are YOU going and HOW will you arrive at your destination?

God is not who you think he is or who you would like him to be or who you have been told he is – God is who he says he is.

Join us as we take a careful, Christ-centered look at the Parable of the Weeds, one of the kingdom-of-heaven parables in Matthew 13.

Grace-based faith is all about what God has done in Christ to rescue and redeem us before it is ever about any kind of response we give to what he has done for us.

As important as it is, it may be shocking to some to discover that feeding the hungry and helping the poor is not the heart and core of the gospel.

Why God determined to give human beings freedom might be the greatest mystery in human existence.

Some people apparently feel that God fits neatly into their hip pocket, right there with their Smart phone, because it seems he agrees with virtually all the decisions they want to make and the things they desire.