“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).In the late 16th and 17th centuries, the Church of England decided to “purify” the church by extinguishing any remaining practices of the old Roman Catholic Church that were not found in the Bible. The church believed that there were too many ideas, ...  Read More

“After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon…the whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because the power was coming out from Him and healing them all” (Luke 6:17-9).In 1985, a man named Jerome Moody died in a swimming pool surrounded by 100 lifeguards. The...  Read More

“When daylight came, He summoned His disciples, and He chose 12 of them—He also named them apostles” (Luke 6:13)Jesus didn’t walk through life on His own—He had brothers with Him. He chose twelve that would be His disciples, and wherever Jesus went, the twelve went with Him.Jesus calls us into the family, not because the Father cannot satisfy us, but because we grow better when we’re surrounded by...  Read More

“During those days He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).Jesus went away to pray. How many times in Scripture have we read that Jesus went away from the crowds, even went away from His friends to pray to the Father in solitude?Why does Jesus do this? He doesn’t do this to parade His holiness. He does this because He’s modeling a practice that we are ...  Read More

“The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).Have you ever noticed how kids imitate their parents? They mimic their facial expressions and adopt their speech patterns—even imitate the way they walk.  As a son or daughter of God, we are meant to imitate Jesus. In Ephesians, we’re told to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, and walk in love, just ...  Read More

“Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need…They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47).Over the last few days, we’ve explored our iden...  Read More