My kids often ask me this question: “Daddy, what are you afraid of?” I know the reasons why they ask this question, and especially of me, their dad. Kids — especially little ones — are cognizant of the good and the bad things in the world; however, their world is very small still. Things to be afraid of are things like thunderstorms, loud noises, big, angry dogs and monsters under their beds. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality of so many children, who face such bigger and

On December 1, 1955, an African-American woman by the name of Rosa Parks got on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white person, which ignited a year-long protest of the public bus system that threatened the transit system’s entire financial operation. The following year, a federal judge ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. In 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, African-American boycotts, sit-ins and peaceful protests of se

Today, in the third part of our sermon series #blessed, we’re talking about what the kingdom of God doesn’t look like, and we’re framing it within what the true blessings in our life are. So far, we’ve talked about who and what God blesses, and how we live out God’s blessings in our lives and for the world. All of the lessons that we’re basing this series on come from the Sermon on the Mount, which is found in Matthew 5.-7.28. Today, we’re still on this mount in Galilee, abou

We live in a time of great change. In fact, change seems to be happening at the speed of light. If you think about new technologies, society in what we call the Global Community, business and commerce, philosophy and theology and communications truly have been reshaped by the amazing advances and information in the world today. Think about the wealth of information that we have to draw from: multiple 24 hour TV news channels tailored to our political or social preferences, so