Christian Fellowship Church Blog
Gratitude and God’s Gift in the Pain of 2020
2020 has been a difficult year by just about anyone’s standards. Gratitude may not be the first response in our hearts when we think about how the year has unfolded. Still, it’s worth reflecting on Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. For
Read moreThe Election and the Bigger Story We’re a Part Of
Note: I wrote this blog two years ago, right before an important election in our nation. It was a tense and uncertain time, much like today’s political scene. As we approach Tuesday’s election, I thought it might be worth reprinting these thoughts as a reminder of the hope we have in Christ and the true story w
Read moreGentleness in a Culture of Outrage: Book Resources
This past Sunday, I preached on “Gentleness in a Culture of Outrage.” There are a few books I’ve been reading that have been helpful to me on this subject. If you are wanting to grow in the particular ways that I talked about in the sermon, let me recommend these resources to you. Gentle and Lowly: The Heart
Read moreThose Strange Old Testament Laws: Part 2
Just how do we, as Christians, relate to the laws in the Old Testament? Are we supposed to keep them? Some of them? All of them? In my last post I gave a few guiding principles to help us. Today, I want to look at a variety of laws given in Leviticus 19 to help us apply those principles. Leviticus 19 opens with the
Read moreThose Strange Old Testament Laws: Part 1
In our Bible Reading Plan for 2020, we’ve been reading through the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament). And if you’ve made it past Genesis, that means you’ve encountered God’s laws given to the people of Israel. We read about them in Exodus. And in Leviticus. And Numbers. And Deuteronomy. Lots
Read moreAsh Wednesday
A couple of years ago, I was watching one of the cable news channels and I noticed the news anchor had a black mark on her forehead. I immediately knew what it was, and I was a bit surprised that she could go on national television, do her job, and have that mark. That day was Ash Wednesday, and clearly this person had
Read moreSlowing Down to Observe Advent
It’s December, the season of hustle and bustle. It’s interesting to me that while this season is one of the busiest of the year, according to the Christian calendar, which helps us mark time in a different way and according to a different story, this time of year is a time for learning to slow down and to wait with
Read moreTake Note of This Moment
Earlier this month, Christian Fellowship held a groundbreaking ceremony for the building of a new church facility on 37 acres that had been purchased a number of years ago. As someone who has been a part of our church for many years said to me, “This is really exciting! We’re really doing this!” It was a moment
Read moreWe Are Not of the World, So that We Can Be for the World
We live in a culture that is highly polarized and divided on all kinds of issues, and this raises important questions for us as Christians. What does love and faithfulness to Jesus look like in our culture? We’ve been reading through the Gospel of John as part of our Bible Reading Plan, and one of the things Je
Read moreDear America
We are living in a time when followers of Christ are asking questions about how to engage in conversations about social issues. An ever-growing number are asking, “how can we think ‘Christianly’ about these issues?” Many do not want to get pulled into the strong-willed political perspectives but also do not w
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