Lessons from the riverbed

I have crossed lots of Jordan Rivers in my life; I’m sure you have, too.

As we see in the book of Joshua (Chapters 1-3), Jordan River crossings are huge, God-sized challenges. They are seasons in life when we have to take steps we really would prefer not to take. The reasons are obvious: these crossings are usually scary and inconvenient, not to mention they require us to let go of self-reliance and fully trust God’s good heart. This was true of Israel thousands of years ago, and it is still true for Jesus’ followers and His church today.

But, crossing Jordan Rivers are also the times of our greatest growth and victories. Read more »

Off and running…

What a great kickoff last week to our new series Crossing Together!

The Prayer Event last Monday night was awesome. I heard several people talk about how impactful it was to them. One person called it one of the TOP 5 worship experiences of his life!

This past weekend was also great as we all began our journey on the same page together. If you missed the sermon this weekend, please go Read more »

Jesus’ timely word for Covenant

What did Jesus say?

When I first became a Christian, all my disciplers said the same thing: “Charlie, you have to get into God’s Word every day”. They emphasized that it was critical that I build a firm foundation in the Bible so that I could defend myself against Satan like Jesus as well as those who would attack my new life in Christ. They patiently taught me the basics of inductive Bible study and its three core questions: What does the passage say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me?

This straight-forward process of exploring God’s Word has served me well for 39 years and has been a mainstay of my early morning quiet times. But there came a time when I learned that there was another question that I also needed to ask myself every day. Read more »

A Picture is Worth

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for my voice!

About ten years ago, I noticed that occasionally I sounded hoarse and had trouble with a raspy-sounding voice. I didn’t realize that it started with preaching. It was most apparent when trying to conduct a meeting, but ultimately it did affect my ability to speak in public.

People had their theories:

“You must be Read more »

Got your rock?

Did you get your rock Monday night?

Jesus was a master at using images, stories and metaphors to communicate kingdom truth, and on Monday at our Urgent Covenant Meeting we sought to do the same. Those present had the opportunity to get an eastern NC river rock, and I hope your family picked one up. (If not, stand by for how and when to get yours.) We thought it would a great way to make a kingdom and Covenant point.

The relevance of river rocks is found in Joshua chapter 4. Through Joshua, God instructed each of the twelve tribes to get a rock from the Jordan River. The nation of Israel had just miraculously passed through the river on dry ground, and God thought it best to guarantee their collective memory. By building a monument, those present and those in the future would more easily remember His amazing and faithful provision. Read more »