Pastors / Leadership

With God's help, you can leave behind the painful memories of difficult church experience.

What our kids need most right now isn’t another Wednesday night filled with games and a quick lesson about why God says this or that is bad. Our kids need their parents willing to talk about their personal relationship with God and how God still loves this world—no matter how messy it seems.

Here is a secret that Satan doesn’t want you to know about worship: It has the power to defeat him.Of course, you have many spiritual weapons to use in every fight of faith you’ll ever encounter in your life—the most powerful one being the Word of God. However, while prayer and the Word were given exclusively to the people of the Kingdom, worship was Satan’s before it was ours.Satan understands the power of worship. He understands its purpose more than many Christians do. Satan understands that worshipping God draws you closer to Him—and above anything he ever tries to do, He wants to keep you apart from God!Of course, nothing can separate you from God’s love, but plenty of things can separate you from connecting with the Spirit of God in worship. Well, it would be more accurate to say this: Plenty of things can make you feel separated from God in worship.The truth is that you have as much access to God’s holy presence in worship as you ever did. But sometimes we feel like we can’t because we aren’t “worthy.” Satan expects that your natural inclination will be to avoid worship altogether or to just go through the motions when life gets hard, or when you’ve messed up, or when your emotions don’t “feel” like it...so he will throw everything he can at you to keep you trapped and disconnected.If you want to throw Satan off his game in worship, here is your 5-part winning strategy:Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/FatmirBajrovic

Deliverance ministries have one purpose; to deliver us from evil spirits or heal us from an illness or ailment. But what is really a deliverance ministry? Is it biblical?

My mom passed away a few months ago. Can she hear me in heaven when I talk to her?

There’s a reason God drafts people into this work. If it were easy, everyone would flock to it and the Lord would have to turn people away. But it’s hard. Sometimes, it’s discouraging to your dreams, it demands of you far more than you have to give, and it can be deadly to your family. That’s why the pastor must be a person of great prayer; otherwise, he’s not going to make it.

For many decades, the Church has been willing to talk about a gospel of personal salvation, but we really haven't had the courage to stand up and take God's Truth into our culture.

Whenever there's a crisis that causes a drastic downfall in our economy, is it really wise—or required of us—to give? Certainly, God knows when we don’t have much money and He wants us to be wise with what we have, right? Besides, if God owns it all...why does He need our money?The answer is He doesn’t. We don’t give out of God’s need for anything. We give out of ours.While on this earth, Jesus talked more about money than hell.That tells us it’s an issue that’s pretty important to Him. But not because He cares about or has need of money. He knows how important it tends to be to us. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). That means with our money, too, especially if it owns (or occupies) much of our hearts.There are many teachings in Scripture to give sacrificially—not just of our time and abilities, but of our money, too. And in the middle of crises everywhere might be the best time of all to consider giving more. Of all the reasons Scripture gives us to part with what’s closest to our hearts, here are just seven biblical reasons to give—especially now:Photo Credit: © Getty Images/valio84sl

Pornography is everywhere. While practicing Christians are less likely to view porn than others, porn use is widespread among Christian men.

I know you’ve said it before – or at least thought it: “I wouldn’t want to be raising children right now with the direction this world is going.” “I worry what my grandchildren will grow up believing.” “If Jesus doesn’t come soon, who knows what the next generation of believers will be like?”And yet, I remember hearing my parents – and grandparents – expressing those same fears as I was growing up in the 1970s.The older we get the more fearful we can be for the generations coming after us. But what if we turned that concern into specific prayers for them, just as you and I most assuredly had prayers said for us by our parents and grandparents and those before them? We serve the same God today that the First Century Christians did. And the Holy Spirit can still draw hearts to Himself, convict hearts of sin, and help others find that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).In John 17:20-21, Jesus prayed for you and me when He said “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (NASB).And just as His prayers long ago have drawn us to Himself, and preserved us through the generations as the victorious body of Christ, our prayers are effective in helping the next generation thrive in Him, too.Here are five important prayers for the next generation of believers.

What is worship? Can prayer be an act of worship? Today we will look at Scripture to answer these questions and understand how the Bible defines worship.

For many, their favorite Thanksgiving hymns usher them back to that Sunday morning when they sat on a cool wooden pew, sandwiched between their cousins, perhaps for the first and last time all year. The songs remind them of their grandmother’s vibrato voice and floral perfume, and perhaps our grandfather’s snore. The lyrics trigger feelings of comfort and nostalgia, reminding us of when life felt simpler, and that extra slice of mother’s pumpkin pie was practically guaranteed.But these long-loved Thanksgiving hymns, sung from one generation to the next, do much more than remind us of a simpler time. They help us reflect on all the reasons, in Christ, we have to give thanks. Whether this holiday season truly feels celebratory or evokes feelings of sorrow and grief, the truths we sing can bolster our hearts with treasured memories and God’s promise of the good that’s yet to come.To help you in thanking God, we created a 30 Days of Gratitude Prayer Guide HERE. Download and print this guide to keep with you as a reminder of God's love and promises.Here are 10 of the most beloved Thanksgiving hymns numerous families will enjoy this season:

Leading entails influencing people to think, say and behave in ways that take them from one place to another. Leading can be formal (you hold a position of authority in a group) or informal (you influence people but don’t hold a position of authority).

Regardless of the Black Friday advertisements and focus on football, Thanksgiving is about getting together with family, sharing in a bountiful meal together, and expressing our gratitude to God for His blessings throughout the year.

Wondering if your prayers of thanksgiving are from a heart of faith? Here are 3 dos and don'ts of thankfulness.