Once upon a time on a farm far, far, away there was a chicken coop occupying the corner of a barnyard.  It was quite a large coop with several different breeds of chickens. Ameraucana, Ancona, Rhode Island and Cornish chickens all shared the same chicken yard and coop.  And life was pretty good. There was… Read More »

Today we begin a new series called Framing Your Heart. Throughout the entire Bible God has made clear his desire to have our hearts. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart…” “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” “God blesses those whose hearts are pure,… Read More »

It had been a really, really long day. It began at 7:30 AM which is pretty early when you went to bed at 2:30 AM the night before, let me tell you! Not only that, it was the 4th 16+ hour day in a row. Welcome to youth ministry when you have your group at… Read More »

Who do you admire? Chances are that person has qualities and characteristics that you would want to emulate in your life. Perhaps it is integrity, kindness, purpose or compassion. In Ephesians 5 the Apostle Paul issues a serious challenge when he writes, “Be imitators of Christ.” To imitate someone means that we seek to adopt… Read More »

Shortly after Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in 1924, it almost folded. It came to the point of bankruptcy. All the creditors were ready to foreclose at twelve noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the school met in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. In that prayer meeting… Read More »

Well, school is in session. I know this because plastered all over my Facebook newsfeed are pictures of kids holding up signs that say, “First Day Of 3rd Grade!” I actually enjoy seeing the pictures, and I am amazed at the smiling faces of these kids. Most of them actually seem excited to go back… Read More »

On Wednesday night we had a Color Wars Event in Children’s Ministry. Color Wars is an obstacle course and team event that involves throwing powdered paint on the participants. And believe me, judging from the adults who participated, you don’t have to be a kid to have fun with it! And boy, there was powdered… Read More »

The evening after Jesus fed the 5000, he told his disciples to get in a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. I wonder what his followers were thinking that night. Jesus tells them to cross the lake and that he would meet them later… how was he going to get there? And why send… Read More »

I’ll never forget my first view of the Amazon Rainforest. I was taking our youth group on an 8 day mission trip. Our airplane had just crossed the Andes Mountains of Peru. They were brown, rocky and barren. A formidable barrier between the coast of Peru and it’s rocky desert to the east. Then, quite… Read More »

Last Saturday our family dismantled our old pop-up camper. We took lots of trips in that camper and created some great family memories over the years, but two years ago, the cable system that raised and lowered the lid snapped, and since it was an older camper the cost of repairing it just wasn’t worth… Read More »