ST. NICHOLAS - Irrational Generosity, Part 2

December 11, 2017

“The doors of his house were open to all. He was like a father to orphans; to the poor a merciful giver, to the weeping a comforter, to the wronged an advocate, and to all a great benefactor.”

Who's the most famous man that nobody knows is a real person? ST. NICHOLAS! The man who lived such an extraordinarily generous life, that he spawned the legend of Santa Claus across the world!

Who was the man behind Santa Claus and what can we learn from his life? That's our topic in part 2 of Irrational Generosity, we look at the life of the real St. NIcholas.

Excerpt: THE POWER OF "WHATEVER"

December 8, 2017

Below is the third and FINAL excerpt I'll be posting from my book, "WHATEVER, GOD": Rediscovering the One I Thought I Knew. Below is the introduction of the book, the very first pages.

For those who still haven't gotten a copy, I hope this whets your appetite. You can learn more about my book - including how to get discounts and freebies on bulk orders - by going to the "WHATEVER, GOD" homepage.

For those who have read it, I hope you'll do me a favor and consider leaving a review online. That's the easiest and simplest way to help get the book in front of more people. The more reviews a book gets, the more Amazon pushes the product, and the more likely the book is to get in front of someone who needs it.

IRRATIONAL GENEROSITY, Part 1

December 4, 2017

"Giving" is an act we DO.
"Generous" is a person we BECOME.

Kicked off a brand new series yesterday at The Well called IRRATIONAL GENEROSITY. The series looks at the spiritual gift of generosity - a gift I believe is just as important and impactful as preaching, teaching, praying or serving. In fact, nothing makes you more like God than when you give and give generously.

Is It Possible to Grow Without Being Challenged?

November 1, 2017

Is it possible to grow if you’re never challenged?

Think before you answer. Is it possible to become stronger if your muscles are never challenged? Is it possible to become smarter if your mind is never challenged? Is it possible to run farther if your physical conditioning is never challenged?

Is it possible to grow if you’re never challenged? The undeniable answer is NO.

Whether it’s physical strength or intellectual prowess or long distance running, I will never grow unless I challenge myself and push myself beyond my current capability – aka, “what I can handle.”

All agree so far? (Here comes the part you probably won’t like.)

THE INVINCIBLE HAND OF GOD - Esther, Part 4

August 28, 2017

It's time for the maestro to walk onto the stage. And when He does, the INVISIBLE hand of God turns into the INVINCIBLE hand of God!

Don't miss the finale of the series, The Invisible Hand of God, and find out what God does when there's no solution in sight (hint: He solves it anyway).

Also, at the end of the message, there's a song that I reference called "Death Was Arrested". Definitely worth the 5 minutes to check it out.

THE POWER OF WAITING - Esther, Part 3

August 21, 2017

Sometimes the most powerful action you can take is no action; it's WAITING on God.

That's the message of Part 3 in our series, The Invisible Hand of God. We see how Esther's willingness to wait on God turned the whole story upside down. Her patience opened the door for God to work mightily.

And it might just do the same in your life too...

THE IMPACT OF ONE - The Invisible Hand of God, Part 2

August 14, 2017

"Just because there's nothing we CAN DO, doesn't mean there's nothing we SHOULD DO."

Part 2 of our series The Invisible Hand of God and this week we look at what happens when evil enters the story and we find ourselves face to face with hatred, injustice, and bigotry.

By her example, Esther teaches us that SEEING the invisible hand of God is great, but BEING the invisible hand of God is even better!

How Do You Sink a Mighty Ship?

July 26, 2017

Recently, I was looking through the list of some of my most-viewed posts of all-time and much to my surprise, the post below appeared near the top of the list. Originally written back in 2012, it speaks to an issue we all need to be aware of: THE POWER OF LITTLE SINS.

They might be small, but they are deadly!

DON'T BELIEVE OR DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE? - Clear the Air, Part 4

July 3, 2017

“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” Blaise Pascal

In this week's message - the Clear the Air finale - I presented what I believe is the REAL reason people walk away from God. And it isn't what people usually say/think it is. I believe there is something much deeper going on.

Don't believe me? Check out the message above and see for yourself.

The God of the Gaps - CLEAR THE AIR, Part 3

June 26, 2017

“The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We're in Part 3 of CLEAR THE AIR - the latest series at STSA that calls everyone who may have walked away from God to reconsider the reasons for which they did so.

In this week's message we address the notion of "God of the gaps" and the relationship between science and faith (which might surprise you a bit) . We discuss why we Christians and the Church should be the ones who embrace science and discovery the most.

For the Bible Tells Me So - CLEAR THE AIR, Part 2

June 19, 2017

Warning: the video above may lead to some serious trauma for those who grew up in church and were taught that the Bible is the foundation of Christianity. If that's you, get ready to have your faith seriously challenged.

It's our second installment in CLEAR THE AIR - the series that looks at the different reasons people "walk away" from God and calls them into question.

The God I Grew Up With - CLEAR THE AIR, Part 1

June 13, 2017

What if the “God” you walked away from never existed to begin with?

We kicked off a brand new 4 week series on Sunday - one that is speaks directly into a problem I see so prevalent in our world today. Too many people walk away from God for the wrong reasons. They are walking away based on false ideas or misconceptions of who he is.

The goal of this series is to clear up some of those misconceptions and see the truth about God as revealed to us in His Son Jesus Christ.

I hope you not only enjoy this video but even more so, I hope you'll share it with others who may have walked from a god who never even existed to begin with.

Who Has the Better Plan: YOU or GOD?

June 7, 2017

Don’t answer too quickly. Of course we all know the “right” answer. We all know that God’s plan is better than our plan and that His ways are higher than ours, yadda yadda yadda. We know the right answer in our head, but let’s be honest – it’s not always easy to believe it, is it?

What happens when your plans get changed against your wishes? When the thing you planned for doesn’t happen the way you want it to or in the timing you need? What happens when your "perfect plan" is turned upside down against your wishes and the only one to blame is God? What then?

What Should I Be Doing to Get Ready for Pentecost?

May 31, 2017

For those of you who are keeping track at home, it’s now been 46 days since Easter Sunday. While that may not mean much to you, it certainly means a lot to me. Why? Because that means that we are in one of my favorite seasons of the entire Church year – the period after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven (40th day after Resurrection), but before the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (50th day after Resurrection).

One of the best things about the Orthodox church is the balance that it gives to our spiritual lives through the various seasons of the year. There’s a season for fasting and a season for feasting! A season for focusing on repentance and a season for focusing on rejoicing! A season for solitude and a season for mission!

PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 6

April 3, 2017

We wrapped up Spiritual Sweat II with an inspirational message about how we can turn our SHORT TERM spiritual highs into LONG TERM spiritual growth. The answer?

PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE. A habit of daily spending time with our Heavenly Father and the Lover of all mankind.

PURITY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 5

March 27, 2017

“But among you there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality..." (Ephesians 5:3)

Purity matters. We fight for pure water and clean air, but there's one area where we generally don't seem as concerned about purity - that is SEXUAL PURITY.

In Part 5 of Spiritual Sweat II, we tackle the sensitive topic of sexual purity and look at it from God's perspective. We'll see that sexual purity is a lot more important than we may realized and the consequences of disobedience in this area, are greater than you may have thought.

REPENTANCE - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 4

March 20, 2017

"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore TURN and LIVE!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

We're halfway through the Spiritual Sweat journey (and Lent) and now it's time for the rubber to meet the road. It's time to put our humility and honesty into action through the practice of REPENTANCE.

What is repentance? It's more than a feeling... more than just confessing my sins. Repentance = CHANGE and if you want to know what that change looks like, check out Part 4 in Spiritual Sweat II above.

HONESTY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 3

March 13, 2017

"GOD WON'T HEAL WHAT YOU DON'T ADMIT."

It's Week 3 in Spiritual Sweat II and this week we're talking about HONESTY - not honesty of the mouth, but honesty of the heart. We need to be honest about our true spiritual condition because - as Jacob saw when he wrestled with God - that's the only way to see God and revive our hearts.

So get ready. This week's message was a bit of a tough one and it isn't for the spiritually faint of heart. But if you're looking for revival, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

HUMILITY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 2

March 6, 2017

"It's my anger that gets me in trouble; but it's my pride that keeps me there." Mark Twain

Humility is the foundation of our Christian life. It's knowing who we are and who we are NOT. Without humility, there is no connection with God. The problem though is understanding what is humility is (and what it isn't).

That's our topic in this week in Spiritual Sweat II. We're talking about humility - the mother of all virtues. What is humility? How can we measure humility? And what can we do to increase our humility?

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15

What I’m Focusing on this Lent

March 1, 2017

It’s here. It's now officially here. Put away those hamburgers and get that ice cream out of sight. It’s time to break out the veggie burgers and soy milk. Why? Because LENT IS HERE!

Every year at the start of Lent, I like to set a goal or focus. Instead of fasting aimlessly, I like to have a target that I'm aiming for. And this year, God convicted me that my focus is very similar to what it was two years ago. (I'm even going back and rereading the same book I was reading back then).

So I decided to dig up the old blog post from 2015 - which is equally applicable for me - and hopefully for you as well. Happy Lent everyone!