We’ve all enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with food galore, family fun, lots of football, and hopefully some relaxation.  Before we know it Christmas will be here and the imminent New Year will be rung in.  And both will likely involve even more food, lots of time with extended family members, and perhaps a glimmer or two of ...

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London were phenomenal. Many Olympic and World Records were broken. Here’s one example: The U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team beat Nigeria 156-73 in an epic blowout. They broke the Olympic record for most points in a game with 4:37 still to play, and set U.S. records for 3-pointers (26), field goals (59) and...

Our culture is afraid to face death because they have never beheld the only One who defeated death. Our lives are shaped by our focus. Which simply means, what we behold we become. Our culture has yet to behold the One who defeated death. That’s why we’re so afraid of it and have perversely become obsessed with.

This is why the ...

My wife and I have enjoyed the privilege of raising and loving our three children. Our oldest, Caleb, has graduated from college and working full time. Living at home this last year he was able to pay off all of his student loans. Hallelujah! Our other two children will graduate from college in May 2013.

I can guarantee you one lesson all three...

One thing I’ll miss the most about the holidays is the music. I’ve got a huge playlist of Christmas songs on my iPod. Music has the amazing ability to transport us to a specific time and place to relive a special moment. The moments vary as widely as the spectrum of human emotions. Every year my family listens to the same music as we ...

Sports fans know that perfection is rarely if ever achieved. Virtually every sport has a system designed to manage imperfection. With the Texas Rangers making the World Series for a second time, I’ve been thinking about the way the game of baseball is played and called, and the way we live.

Consider this: Baseball records errors on the ...

 
Hank will be leading a class through this book. It’s recommended that each student buy the book ($9.43 from Amazon.com plus shipping) and read it. A Bible study is at the end of each chapter. That’s the portion the class will be going through.

From the back cover of the book:

In Jesus’ day, eating with someone ...

Well Church, we’ve been through a series on stewardship, “Maximize,” and we’re finishing up the series “Pay Attention” where we’ve been awakening each other to the God who’s already there.

We will soon be embarking on a series I’ve titled “Oasis Conversations” based in the Psalms....

1 Corinthians 2:6-10 (NASB) Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if ...

I was enjoying a personal indulgence and deep pleasure on Friday as is my custom—perusing books in a bookstore. As my eye randomly scanned the shelves I found myself in the sociology section. I title “leapt out” at me. I seized the book and fondled it with my eyes. The irony is in the book’s title – Distracted: The ...

A few years ago I read TECHNOPOLY - The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman and PROPHETIC UNTIMELINESS - A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance by Os Guinness. Both have challenged me. It amazes me that these two books were written eleven years apart while their messages are so complementary. They provide the insights I share with you ...

In his enigmatically titled book, Under the Unpredictable Plant, Eugene Peterson discerningly states, “While everyone has a hunger for God, deep and insatiable, none of us has any great desire for him.” I compare this to the classic remark that parents make to their children – “There’s a significant distinction between...

C. Neil Strait appropriately remarked, “Take from a man his wealth, and you hinder him; take from him his purpose, and you slow him down. But take from man his hope, and you stop him. He can go on without wealth, and even without purpose, for awhile. But he will not go on without hope.”
Hopelessness is at the root of many of today&...

There are a lot of “ism’s” infecting the church today (aka, “family of God”). Perhaps the oldest are the inseparable twins of cynicism and skepticism. There’s the classic middle child of nationalism (“God bless America and no one else.”) And there are the two youngest children of individualism and ...