Pastor Carey Nieuwhof reflects on Andy Stanley’s teaching about how to make your church seeker-friendly. Here are a few of his observations. The bold type statements are quotes from Andy Stanley with comments from Pastor Nieuwhof. Powerful insights! 1. We don’t tailor content of our services for unchurched people, but we do tailor the experience. This is such a huge and important distinction. Opening up your service to the unchurched doesn’t mean dumbing it down. 2. Nothing should offend people in your weekend services except the Gospel. Often people get turned away not because of Christ, but because of people’s bad attitudes or strange preferences for certain kinds of music or culture. 3. A parking team is not about ‘parking’ guests, it’s about welcoming them. Even if you don’t have a “parking problem”, your welcome should start when your guests pull into the parking lot. Greet them personally and help them start their experience well. 4. Everyone has an approach to their weekend services. If there is a conflict between your goal and your approach, your approach always wins. Everyone has a template for their weekend services. If your template and approach aren’t getting you to your goal, change it. 5. If you start (a message or event) with common emotions and common experiences, not everybody agrees with your point, but everybody follows you there. Brilliant. 6. People learn best in emotionally charged environments. So engage their emotions early – with a fun opener (Andy referenced the 101st anniversary of the Oreo recently. They gave away a prize of Oreos and milk to an attender – cool). Or let music prepare people’s emotions. 7. We leverage common experiences and emotions, not belief systems. When you’re reaching unchurched people, don’t start with disagreement (belief), start with agreement (common experiences and emotions) and then get to belief later. 8. The more time you can spend in planning a service or experience, the more personal it becomes. Planning is the friend of the Holy Spirit, not His enemy. Often “I’m relying on God” actually means “I didn’t prepare”. 9. Our goal is not to be creative, but to leverage creativity for the sake of the mission and vision. Bingo. 10. A clean environment communicates that we’re expecting you. I wish this was in the Bible. Then I could preach at people about it. But it’s not. So quoting Andy will do. 11. An orderly environment communicates you know what you’re doing. I wish this was in the Bible too. Clean and orderly communicates so much about you and so much about how you value the people you’re welcoming. 12. People stop attending church because they disengage, not because they disagree. HUGE insight. Very few people walk out your door because of disagreement. Many leave because of disengagement. 13. Attention span is determined by the quality of the presentation. With all the talk about diminishing attention spans, this is a clear reminder than 5 minutes of boring is 5 minutes too much, and 1 hour of gripping feels like not nearly enough. Pastors, before you use it to justify a 60 minute message, just make sure you’re that gripping. 14. A goal is something you accomplish. A win is something you experience. So true! 15. Creativity works best in the context of predictability. Creativity has constraints, but like obedience to the law, eventually the constraints bring a new kind of freedom. Other Gems 1. Public loyalty buys you private leverage. Criticize privately, praise publicly. Your boss and colleagues will respect you. Flip it and they’ll fire you or never trust you. 2. Your direction, not intention, determines your destination. This principle came up numerous times. It’s just true. Good intentions amount to little. 3. Evaluate everything you do against your mission. This was from a session I attended led by Diane Grant. Diane is Andy’s Executive Assistant but a super strong leader in her own right. She owns this principles. 4. Great opportunities are a chance for a vision to drift. Again from Diane Grant. Exactly. And an opportunity does not equal an obligation. Stay true to the mission. 5. The loudest critics in the church are people who have become missionally disengaged. Clay Scroggins, a campus pastor at North Point, shared this nugget. So true. Why listen to people who are missionally disengaged give you feedback on your mission? 6. Kids begging their parents to go to church beats parents begging their kids to go to church. Invest in your family ministry environments. Chad Ward, UpStreet director at one of the North Point campuses shared this. So true. Get the kids, and you’ve got the parents.

When asked if we would recognize friends in Heaven, George MacDonald responded, “Shall we be greater fools in Paradise than we are here?” Yet many people wonder whether we’ll know each other in Heaven. What lies behind that question is Christoplatonism and the false assumption that in Heaven we’ll be disembodied spirits who lose our identities and memories. How does someone recognize a spirit? However, these assumptions are unbiblical. Christ’s disciples recognized him countless times after his resurrection. They recognized him on the shore as he cooked breakfast for them (John 21:1-14). They recognized him when he appeared to a skeptical Thomas (John 20:24-29). They recognized him when he appeared to five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). But what about Mary at the garden tomb or the two men on the road to Emmaus? They didn’t recognize Jesus. Some people have argued from this that Jesus was unrecognizable. But a closer look shows otherwise. Jesus said to Mary in the garden, “‘Woman . . . why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him’ ” (John 20:15). Distressed, teary-eyed Mary, knowing Jesus was dead, and not making eye contact with a stranger, naturally assumed he was the gardener. But as soon as Jesus said her name, she recognized him: “She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher)” (John 20:16). Some commentators emphasize that the disciples on the Emmaus road didn’t recognize Jesus. But notice what the text says: “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:15-16, emphasis added). God miraculously intervened to keep them from recognizing him. The implication is that apart from supernatural intervention, the men would have recognized Jesus, as they did later: “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight” (Luke 24:31). Another indication that we’ll recognize people in Heaven is Christ’s transfiguration. Christ’s disciples recognized the bodies of Moses and Elijah, even though the disciples couldn’t have known what the two men looked like (Luke 9:29-33). This may suggest that personality will emanate through a person’s body, so we’ll instantly recognize people we know of but haven’t previously met. If we can recognize those we’ve never seen, how much more will we recognize our family and friends? Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe causing us not to recognize family and friends. Paul anticipated being with the Thessalonians in Heaven, and it never occurred to him he wouldn’t know them. In fact, if we wouldn’t know our loved ones, the “comfort” of an afterlife reunion, taught in1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all. J. C. Ryle said of this passage, “There would be no point in these words of consolation if they did not imply the mutual recognition of saints. The hope with which he cheers wearied Christians is the hope of meeting their beloved friends again. . . . But in the moment that we who are saved shall meet our several friends in heaven, we shall at once know them, and they will at once know us.” The continuity of our resurrection minds and bodies argues that we’ll have no trouble recognizing each other—in fact, we’ll have much less trouble. In Heaven we probably won’t fail to recognize an acquaintance in a crowd, or forget people’s names. Missionary Amy Carmichael had strong convictions on this question: Shall we know one another in Heaven? Shall we love and remember? I do not think anyone need wonder about this or doubt for a single moment. We are never told we shall, because, I expect, it was not necessary to say anything about this which our own hearts tell us. We do not need words. For if we think for a minute, we know. Would you be yourself if you did not love and remember? . . . We are told that we shall be like our Lord Jesus. Surely this does not mean in holiness only, but in everything; and does not He know and love and remember? He would not be Himself if He did not, and we should not be ourselves if we did not. www.epm.org .  Used by permission.

“I quit!” I told my husband. “I’m leaving our church. This church no longer brings me life. It brings me death. I am going to another church.” I had been imagining this very moment for months. Since my husband was the Senior Pastor of our church, this was no small decision. For years, I made feeble attempts to get him to pay attention, to see my tiredness and frustrations. Finally, I was finished. “You can’t do that!” Pete replied, visibly upset. “That’s ridiculous.” I remained silent, determined not to cave in to his anger. “What about the kids? Where are they going to go? It’s impractical! Listen, just one more year and things will smooth out.” I could see his anxiety rising as he came up with more and more reasons why my quitting was a bad idea. “What about God? Didn’t He call both of us to this? Look at all the good things He is doing. People’s lives are being changed!” Who could argue with that? Pete had been pulling out the God card since the beginning of our marriage. For years, I felt brushed off and ignored by Pete, and I did not care anymore. I had finally hit bottom. With Pete pouring so much of his life into the church, I felt like a single parent raising our four young girls alone. Only a few months earlier, I had told Pete, “You know, if we separated, my life would be easier because then you would at least have to take the kids on the weekends and I would get a break.” I meant it, but it was still only a fantasy, an empty threat. My need to be what other people wanted and expected me to be was far too great to actually allow me to stand up for myself. While I had been a committed Christian for many years, my primary identity was defined not by God’s love for me but by what others thought of me. This negatively impacted every area of my life – marriage, parenting, friendships, leadership, even my hopes and dreams. But now I had lost the fear of what others might think or say. There was no longer anything else left to lose. I had given so much of myself away that I no longer recognized myself. Gone was the creative, outgoing, fun, assertive Geri. Now I was sullen, depressed, tired, and angry. Our church was growing and exciting things were happening in people’s lives, but it came at a too high cost – a cost I no longer wanted to pay. There was something desperately wrong with winning the whole world for Christ at the cost of losing my own soul. I complained to Pete about my unhappiness and blamed him for my misery. To make matters worse, I felt ashamed and guilty about it all. After all, weren’t good pastors’ wives supposed to be cooperative and content? Still, I got to the point where I was so miserable that I did not care what anybody thought of me. I no longer cared if people saw me as a “bad pastor’s wife” or a “bad Christian.” I wanted out. It has been said that a person who has nothing left to lose becomes the most powerful person on earth. I was now that person. I started attending another church the next week. As I look back, I am deeply sad and embarrassed it took me so long to finally take action. The fear of what others might think paralyzed me for years. Quitting the church was only the first small step toward true freedom in Christ. The problem, I would learn, was not ultimately the church, Pete, the congestion of New York City, or our four young children. The hard truth was that the primary problem was me. Monumental things inside of me needed to change. Looking to Others to Tell Me “I’m Okay” For the first nine years of our marriage, I conformed and accommodated myself to Pete’s desires. I quickly dismissed my desire to go back to school because it clashed with Pete’s already overloaded schedule. I avoided “hot button” topics I suspected might arouse tension in our marriage. I was unable to tolerate the discomfort and pain of Pete’s pouting or, worse yet, his anger toward me. What was I to do? Wouldn’t he be miserable if I started to be my own person? Yet, I soon realized this issue went much deeper and wider than my relationship with Pete. Unhealthy patterns of self sacrifice and accommodation overflowed into every area of my life – in friendships, church, parenting, and my family of origin. Like most people, I enjoy it when people tell me, either verbally or nonverbally, that I am okay. This is a good thing. I enjoy being supported and accepted by Pete and others. The problem comes when validation from others becomes something one must have. Sadly, I needed it; I had to have it in order to feel good about myself. In other words, I was okay with myself as long as I felt others were okay with me. Four Reasons to Stop Living for the Approval of Others If we do not break through our need for the approval of others, our growth is seriously stunted. We cannot mature into spiritual adulthood. A wall is erected that stands between us and the beautiful future God has for us. We settle for the pseudo comfort of being okay with ourselves based on others being okay with us. 1. You Violate Your Own Integrity You violate your integrity when what you believe is no longer what you live. You ignore values that you hold dearly. A wall exists between what goes on inside of you and what you express to others. Who you are “on stage” before others is not who you are “off stage” when you are by yourself. 2. What Or Whom You Love Is at Stake You realize that if you continue your present course and behavior, you will lose someone or something dear to you. This may be your spouse, family, career, future, or even yourself. To make a change feels awful, but to stay where you are is even worse. 3. The Pain Of Your Present Situation Is So Great You Have To Make A Change Some of us have such a huge tolerance for pain that it takes an explosion to get us to move. One attractive, highly educated, young woman I know went in and out of an abusive relationship because she was so familiar with such treatment from her family of origin. The pain eventually led her to leave the relationship completely. As she began to receive Christ’s love, her identity was remolded, and she was able to value herself the way Christ does. 4. The Fear That Things Will Stay The Same Is Greater Than The Fear That Things Will Change The notion of changing our situation can easily overwhelm us. There comes a point, however, when the thought of remaining in certain circumstances another one, five, ten, or thirty years is more terrifying than risking change. At times, this serves as a clear message from God to get off the road you are on. Change becomes less scary than the prospect of remaining where you are. This fear was a contributing factor that finally propelled me into changing my situation. The fear that things would never change in our church or our marriage became greater than my fear of quitting the church and risking the displeasure of others. My dread that life could remain like this for the next twenty years moved me to finally say, “No more!” Two Practical Steps When it comes to quitting the approval of others, progress is best made with two daily practices: reflecting on the movements of your heart and reflecting on the love of God. For example, to reflect on the movements of your heart, think back on your recent interactions with people. What did you say to position yourself so that others would think well of you? What might you have done differently? Ask God to help you be aware of the temptation to adjust your behavior or words for someone’s approval. The second daily practice is to contemplate the love of God. I spend time regularly in Scripture, in silence and solitude, receiving the love of God, allowing it to permeate and change every cell in my body. This has proven foundational to slowly dissipate the fear of what others think. The principle is simple: the more you ground your identity in the love of God, the less you need the approval of people for your sense of lovability. And when you are willing to quit caring what others think, you take a giant step to discover the Holy Spirit’s power to break into your life and birth that which is new and beautiful.

Children need us to be strong and confident in the Lord. We cannot impart what we don’t possess. If the parents are not experiencing freedom in Christ, they will have a difficult, if not impossible time helping their children experience freedom from Satan’s oppression in their young lives. Let’s examine from a parental perspective the most definitive passage in the New Testament for helping others find their freedom in Christ: “And the Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Tim. 2:24-26 NIV As you can see this is a kind, gentle, able to teach, patient when wronged model that requires the presence of God in order to set a captive free. The passage also teaches that freedom comes from knowing the truth, because people are in bondage to the lies they believe. The battle is shown to be in the mind, because when they come to their senses they escape from the snare of the devil. It also establishes the fact that the one who is going to help your child must be completely surrendered to the Lord. Jesus is the wonderful counselor and only He can grant repentance and set a captive free. · Have you been patient when wronged by your child? · Have you been kind or harsh? · Have you corrected them with gentleness? · Do you know the truth well enough to teach them what to do when they are under attack? You may need to start by asking your child to forgive you for the times that you have not disciplined in love, or understood the true nature of their problem. If a parent has severely disciplined (punished) a child, without knowing what is going on inside, the relationship may be damaged. The same problem is true for any other authority figure that has tried to shape only their behavior without knowing about the battle that may be going on for their minds. Can you imagine the frustration of hearing voices or experiencing a presence in your room that frightened you, and not have anyone to talk to who understands? The problem is compounded when they share what they are experiencing with another person who won’t believe them. Being told that there is a spiritual battle going on for your mind and that the problem is resolvable brings immediate relief! Hopefully you will have resolved your own personal and spiritual conflicts as a mature Christian, and you will be personally familiar with the process of helping your child fight their spiritual battles. It will also make you an example to follow rather than one who is judging or condemning them. The joy of knowing your own identity and freedom in Christ will be something your children will recognize and want to have for themselves. Be careful to use terms that a child can understand. In order for children to cooperate they must know that they are not the problem, but they must be proactive. If your attitude is wrong and you say something like: “What’s wrong with you anyway?” they will probably get defensive. I asked one young boy if he had thoughts in his head telling him what to do. He said he did, and I asked what the thoughts were. He said, “I’m no good!” The frustrated parents of this adopted child had all but thrown in the towel trying to control his behavior. The message that he was getting internally and externally was that he is incorrigible, no good, hopeless, and helpless. The goal is to resolve their personal and spiritual conflicts in Christ and find the peace of God that passes all understanding. For the duration of their life they need to know that they have to be responsible for what they think and do. In order for this process to work, you must have their cooperation to share with you any mental thoughts they are having which are in direct opposition to what you are attempting to do. The power of Satan is in the lie. As soon as the lie is exposed, the perceived power is broken. The control center is the mind, and if Satan can get them to believe a lie he can control their lives. Thoughts like, “This isn’t going to work,” or “God doesn’t love you,” etc., can interfere only if they believe the lies. I usually tell people that it doesn’t make any difference if the thoughts they are hearing are coming from a loud speaker on the wall or in their head. It is just a thought or voice and it can’t have any power over you unless you believe it. In either case don’t pay attention to it. There are two reasons why most people, including our children, don’t share what is going on inside. Firstly, if they even remotely suspect that we won’t receive the information appropriately, they won’t share it. Patronizing responses like, “You’re just having a bad day,” or “It will go away,” or “You have an over-active imagination,” or judgmental statements like, “You need to see a doctor!” will keep a person from revealing what they are thinking. The last response is what many fear the most. They already fear they are going crazy, and anything you do to suggest that possibility will drive them away. I have assured many people that nothing they could share about their thoughts would surprise me. Sometimes thoughts are threatening or vulgar. Once they know that you understand that those thoughts aren’t their thoughts, they are more free to share what is going on inside. Secondly, they may be threatened by voices they think they hear in their head. Usually it is a threat to harm them when they get home or back in their bedroom. The threat can be towards someone else such as their father or baby sister. They believe they have to obey the voices in order to save someone else. Much of the intimidation is threatening them not to share what is really going on inside. Satan’s attacks are like cockroaches. They only come out in the safety of darkness. They fear being exposed. When you turn on the light they scurry for the shadows. All this intimidation is to keep the child from sharing what must be shared in order to be free in Christ. The problem isn’t at home or in their room, it’s in their mind. So if they resolve it in your office, it will be resolved at home. And if the problem is resolved in the parent’s bedroom it will be resolved in the child’s bedroom. One person called hours later and said with a great deal of joy, “They’re not here either!” They never were “there.” What is going to set your child free is what they do, not what you do. Since Satan is under no obligation to obey our thoughts, a child who is deeply struggling spiritually should pray their prayers out loud, and assume their responsibility to resolve the issues that are standing between them and God. For a child who is deeply disturbed, it is not what we do that sets them free; it is what they choose to renounce, confess, forgive, etc. Watch them closely as they pray, especially their eyes. If they start to drift away mentally, ask them what they are hearing. In some cases they may be seeing something. The moment they share it, the lie is exposed, and the power is broken. We must help them focus their minds and to ensure them that they do have control if they would only choose to exercise it. It is common for children under spiritual attack to have headaches or feel like they are getting sick. Usually the physical symptoms stop when they share it. If they say, “I have to leave here.” Remind them that is only a thought. The weapons of warfare are not of the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Prayer is our weapon when we calmly take our place in Christ. Trust is an essential prerequisite. If a child trusts you they will believe what you say. For them to trust you they have to feel accepted, safe, and secure. The more you calmly explain what is happening in the spiritual realm and the more reassurance you give them, the more they will believe and trust you. The safer they feel, the better chances they have of finding freedom from the lies they have believed. The authority we have in Christ does not increase with shouting or coercion. Don’t respond in the flesh. God does everything decently and in order. Teach your child to pray victorious prayers from God’s Word. Listen carefully. Make them feel safe. Guide them gently. The Holy Spirit is the One who transforms their lives. www.ficm.org . Used by permission.

The role of leadership is to leverage the tension to the benefit of the organization. That’s your assignment as a leader. You’ve got to learn through your personality, your position and your gifts to leverage these tensions for the benefit of the organization because these tensions result in progress, progress, progress when properly leveraged. Here are seven quick suggestions. A. First, obviously, is to identify the tensions to be managed in your organization, and this isn’t really hard to do. Sit down and work through with your team members, “Hey, what are the tensions that in that aren’t going away?” And here’s the key. What are the tensions that shouldn’t go away that we have to learn how to properly manage? If you don’t identify these tensions, you will spend hours trying to solve problems that can’t be solved and shouldn’t be solved. And if you are a peacemaker by nature, if you are a conflict-avoider by nature you will lean in the direction of bringing about peace and giving up the tension, which will impede progress, and you will make everybody happy temporarily, but you may undermine the strength of your entire church or organization. Identify the tensions. B. Create terminology. Create new terminology. The terminology we use in our organization is simply this. This is a tension to manage. I’m telling you, in the midst of conflict, staff conflict, volunteer conflict, all of a sudden it’s bingo! We’re trying to solve a problem that is actually tension we must learn to leverage. C. Inform your core. I would say to my team, “I’ve discovered something that I think we need to integrate into our culture and we must all learn to speak the same language.” And I informed our core, all of our leaders. I said, “There is a third way. This isn’t about you winning, and this isn’t about you losing, or you winning and you losing. There are tensions in our organization we must all learn to manage.” And we created a conversation, and we created a category and we created terminology. Again, as I said, it’s kind of the third way. D. Continually give value to both sides. Whenever there’s a conflict in your organization, you’re a leader. You have an opinion, right? In fact, in many cases we’re the one surfacing the conflict. We’re the ones calling people in and saying, “Hey, I don’t know about what was going on Sunday,” or “you sure that’s the right way to do this,” or “why are people coming in so late,” or whatever your deal is. So as a leader, we automatically have an opinion about ever single conflict in our organization. Also, your words as a senior pastor, the youth pastor, whoever you are in authority, your words weigh more. So consequently we must get in the habit, once we’ve identified what these tensions are, we must get in the habit, regardless of what our opinion is and regardless of where we tend to weigh in, we’ve got to learn to give value or speak value into both sides. E. Don’t weigh in too heavily based on your personal biases. You give value to both sides and you learn not to weigh in too heavily based on your personal biases. For example, you’re the communicator. Well, you know what communicators think about how much time communicators should get? They think they should get more time. Right? But you’re the worship leader. And what does the worship leader think about how much time the worship leader should get? Well, the worship leader thinks, “Well, I should get more time than I have.” And then there’s the volunteers. They’re going, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Children’s attention span is about 15 minutes. We’re giving you a whole hour. Don’t you dare let the whole thing run over.” I mean what do you do with that? As a leader you must decide. “You know what, my goal is not to win, my goal is not to always resolve; my goal is to make sure that the important progress-critical tensions never drop out of sight.” If you as a leader don’t learn to create, maintain and keep front and center certain tensions, you become an impediment to progress. Understand the upside of the opposite side. Understand the down side of your side. You need to understand the upside of the opposite side; you need to understand and be able to verbalize the downside of your side. That means communicators, you must learn to be a champion for worship, and worship leaders have to learn to become a champion for the spoken preached word, and preachers, you’ve got to learn to be a champion for the integrity and the quality of what happens in student ministry and youth ministry, and education directors need to learn to become champions of the spoken word and the worship word. That if you’re the point person, you must learn to be the champion of every single angle and every single perspective. Otherwise your words will squash the conflict and you’ll try to erase tension. And at the end of the day, progress is impeded. F. Don’t allow the strong personalities in your group to win the day. If your education director has a stronger personality than your worship leader and you let them battle it out, and you watch the worship leader just kind of fold up under the pressure of the words of the education director, and it looks like everything is resolved because your worship leader just shut down, that is not a win. You as a leader have failed to keep a very important tension alive in your staff meetings. Some people on your team people talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, and there are people who never open their mouth. And I have learned, and have had to learn, to say, “Thank you. Kevin, talk. Talk. Just talk. I just want to know. You’re thinking. I want those thoughts to come out of your mouth now. Talk.” Because you can’t let anybody win. The tension has got to be out there, and you as leader have got to learn to leverage it. You need passionate people who will champion their side. But you need mature people who understand this reality. And if you have somebody that just won’t let it go, and if you have somebody that just can’t embrace this third way, then you may need to move them out of your inner circle because you can’t afford to allow problems that should never be solved to become tensions that are ultimately resolved. We must learn to manage tensions. And once you’ve identified them, leverage them. Grow from them. Because in some cases they will be the key to progress in your organization. Excerpt from Catalyst West. Used by permission of Catalyst.

There is a magical thing that happens in homes all over the world. When you have a child, you want your child to crawl, and then you want your kid to walk. My first child, Audrey, pulled herself to the coffee table. When she got to the coffee table, she began to bounce on her knees, and then she began to coast along. From there she started letting go and just being wobbly. At that point we began to get excited about the fact that Audrey was about to walk. Eventually she took her hands off of the coffee table, and we watched physics in motion. God has created children, specifically young children, with gargantuan heads and tiny little bodies. So when Audrey let go of the coffee table, her gigantic head fell forward and suddenly she had a decision to make. She could stick that foot out to catch herself or she could die. So she stuck her foot out, and then she had momentum. It was step, step, step, fall. Do you know what we did? We exploded in celebration. We picked her up, spun her around, and kissed her face. Then we sat her down and pleaded with her to walk toward us again. After that we began e-mailing, Facebooking, taking pictures, tweeting, and all sorts of other things to get the word out that Audrey was walking. We did that with our son, Reid, and we’ve done that with our daughter Norah. What I have learned as I watched all of our friends have children is that there is always an epic celebration around the kid walking. This is news to be declared. “This kid is walking!” For all the people I have watched go through that process, I’ve never seen anybody watch their kid go step, step, step, fall and then say out loud, “Man, this kid is an idiot. Are you serious? Just three steps? Man, I can get the dog to walk two or three steps. Honey, this must be from your side of the family, because my side of the family is full of walkers. This must be some sort of genetic, shallow gene pool on your side of things.” No father does that. Every father rejoices in the steps of his child. The father celebrates the steps of his child. I think what we have here is a picture of God celebrating us walking. So we step, step, step, and fall, and heaven applauds. At what? At the obedience of taking those three steps. The Father in heaven is crying, “He’s walking!” “She’s doing it!” And maybe the Accuser’s saying, “No, he only took a couple of steps. That’s nothing.” But the celebration is in the steps, even if there are still falls. Here’s what I know about all of my children: they start to walk farther and farther and farther, and they begin to skip, they begin to run, they begin to jump, they begin to climb, and they begin to tear the house up. It’s beautiful. I knew even when they were step, step, step, falling that that process was the beginning of what would result in climbing trees, dancing, and sprinting. Knowing in my mind what’s to come, the three steps and the stumble were a celebration. Moralists see the fall and believe that the Father is ashamed and thinks they’re foolish. So, more often than not, they stop trying to walk because they can’t see the Father rejoicing in and celebrating his child. Church of Jesus; let us please be men and women who understand the difference between moralism and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s be careful to preach the dos and don’ts of Scripture in the shadow of the cross’s “Done!” Resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified. We are not looking to conform people to a pattern of religion but pleading with the Holy Spirit to transform people’s lives. Let us move forward according to that upward call, holding firmly to the explicit gospel. What we see in the Father’s heart in the Bible is its immensity, its bottomless depths. God’s heart is as complex and unfathomable as he is. Shouldn’t we stand firm in the gospel we believe and proclaim so that we reflect the bigness of God’s heart for a fallen world? The cross of Christ and his resurrection are cataclysms of the unsearchable judgments and affections of God. It is this immense gospel that spurs Paul to pray: “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:14-19). The Scripture’s complementary perspectives of the gospel on the ground and the gospel in the air help us comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love. Neither perspective dilutes the other but rather shapes our vision of God’s saving purposes to the epic scope of biblical revelation. We are after a gospel that is resolutely centered on the atoning work of Christ and scaled to the glory of God. Let the explicit gospel drive us to worship with all “the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19) and in awe of both God’s immense, universe-subsuming glory and his deep, personal love for sinners. May we never assume that people understand this gospel but, instead, let’s faithfully live out and faithfully proclaim the explicit gospel with all the energy and compassion our great God and King has graciously given. This article is excerpted from his book, Explicit Gospel . Copyright Crossway Books. Reprinted by permission.

THE NINE POINTS OF CHRIST’S STAR From the Biblical account in Matthew, unpacking it verse by verse, we can compile a list of nine qualities that must be present before any celestial phenomena could be considered to be the Biblical Star of Bethlehem. If any qualification is missing, then we will assume we haven’t found our Star. Let’s start with the nine points of Christ’s star: 1. It signified birth. 2. It signified kingship. 3. It had a connection with the Jewish nation. 4. It rose in the east, like other stars. 5. It appeared at a precise time. 6. Herod didn’t know when it appeared. 7. It endured over time. 8. It was ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. 9. It stopped over Bethlehem. All of these following verses come from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 2:1: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod” (NIV) To begin, we see again how important the date of Herod’s death is to the investigation. If Herod died in 4 BC, then Christ had to be born before that year. But if Herod died in 1 BC, as the best evidence indicates, then we should look at the years 2 and 3 BC. Matthew 2:1b continues: “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem…” (NIV) Who are these magi? The word, ‘magi,’ which is sometimes translated ‘wise men,’ is the root from which we get our word ‘magic.’ This doesn’t make them all magicians, in the present sense of the word. Some of them were learned men in general, who studied the physical world and were knowledgeable about many things, including the stars. Magi were often court astronomers who were consulted by the rulers of the day for guidance in affairs of state. This was also true in much earlier times. For example, during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, some 500 years earlier, King Nebuchadnezzar kept a stable of court magi. Nebuchadnezzar made the Jewish prophet Daniel Chief Magus of his court when Daniel was able to interpret a dream the other magi could not. There were magi of various schools, and some were more respected than others. We know something of a particularly prestigious school of magi from the writings of Philo. Philo was a Jewish philosopher and contemporary of Jesus who lived in the large Jewish community of Alexandria, Egypt. Philo wrote in praise of an Eastern school of magi and their great learning and understanding of the natural world. This school may have descended from the Babylonian magi of Daniel’s day. Matthew does report that the Wise Men were from the East, and Babylon is east of Judea. It was at one time part of the Persian Empire, which ties in with Philo. So it is possible the Wise Men were of this prestigious Eastern school. This would account for Herod giving them an audience, and for his strong reaction to the news they brought. Matthew 2:2 continues with Herod’s question: “…and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (NIV) The Magis’ question gives us three points for our list of qualifications for the Star. Whatever happened in the sky indicated 1) birth, 2) kingship and 3) Jews. It also gives us a clue about the Magi. They were interested in things Jewish. In verse 2, Matthew writes: “We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (NIV) When the wise men said “we saw his star in the east,” they didn’t mean “we saw his star while we were in the East.” The Greek text here says the Star was “en anatole,” meaning they saw his star rising in the east. That’s what all but polar stars do, because of the rotation of the Earth. Stars rise in the east, but not all celestial objects do that. So, that’s another qualification for the Star: 4) it must rise in the east like most other stars. The motive of the Magi in coming to Jerusalem tells us a great deal more about them. They wanted to worship a Jewish king. It can’t be proven from the text, but it is quite possible that some of the Magi were of Jewish descent, perhaps a Jewish remnant from Daniel’s day. This would help explain why a Jewish philosopher, Philo, would admire them, why they were watching the sky for things Jewish, why they wanted to worship a Jewish king, and why they were taken so seriously by Herod and Jewish chief priests. If they were not Jews, then they must have been most impressive magi indeed, as Jews of the time were deeply disdainful of pagans and their beliefs. In verse 3, we read Herod’s response: “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (NIV) You must know more to understand just how very troubled Herod and Jerusalem became at the Magis’ news. Historians tell us that respect for the stars and guidance derived from them was at a peak. Both ancient historians and the Bible make it clear that the Jews of this period expected a new Jewish ruler to arise, based upon Jewish prophecy. And it was accepted that the stars could announce such an arrival. For example, about 60 years earlier, in 63 B.C., magi made a presentation to the Roman Senate. They described celestial portents indicating that a new ruler had been born. Evidently regretting that news, the Senate responded by ordering the death of baby boys in the candidate age range. Sound familiar? It turns out that when Herod ordered the slaughter of children in Bethlehem, he may have been following a sort of Roman precedent. That precedent may be one reason Jerusalem was troubled at the news the Wise Men brought. Perhaps they realized the Romans might shed blood in response in Matthew 4:4-6: “When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'” (NIV) Herod took the Magis’ message as factual, and consulted the Jewish experts about the location of the birth. The fateful verse in the Book of Micah which is quoted to Herod by the Jewish experts soon resulted in the death of many little boys in Bethlehem. Matthew pens these words in verse 7:3: “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.” (NIV) Another qualification for the Star: 5) It appeared at an exact time. And yet another qualification: 6) Herod didn’t know when it appeared. He had to ask. In verses 8 and 9, the Hebrew king orders: “He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” (NIV) And now we have the last three qualifications for the Star: 7) it endured over a considerable period of time. The Magi saw it, perhaps from Babylon, traveled to Judea and saw it still. 8) It went ahead of them as they traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. You might not realize that this doesn’t mean the Star was needed to guide the travelers to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was (and is) just five miles south of Jerusalem on the main road. They couldn’t miss it. No, the star appears ahead of them as they trek south not so much as a guide as a further confirmation of the signs they had seen. Lastly, 9) the Star stopped! IN REVIEW, WE NOW KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE STAR! 1. It signified birth. 2. It signified kingship. 3. It had a connection with the Jewish nation. 4. It rose in the east, like other stars. 5. It appeared at a precise time. 6. Herod didn’t know when it appeared. 7. It endured over time. 8. It was ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. 9. It stopped over Bethlehem. John the apostle tells us that Jesus Himself was the “star,” the light of men. He embodied the revealed truth of God. Jesus not only revealed the nature of God, but His light also revealed the character of man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…v.14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-4, 14 (NIV) • What do we learn about Christ and His relation to God and man according to the John 1 passage? • The magi were persistent in their search for the king. What are some ways that you can seek God’s Word and His presence in the coming year? • Read Isaiah 9:6-7. What are the descriptive names of Christ in this passage? How do they impact the blessings you receive from knowing Christ? Spend some time praying and praising God for who He is. APPLYING THE SCRIPTURES Read the following passages and record your observations. John 1:1-14; Matthew 2; Isaiah 9:6-7; John 3:19-20; 1 John 1:5-9 Material for this study may be found at www.bethlehemstar.net

Russell Moore shares his insights about tension during the holiday season. Here are his wise suggestions: “We tend to idealize holidays, but human depravity doesn’t go into hibernation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. One thing that will hit most Christians, sooner or later, are tensions within extended families at holiday time. Some of you will be visiting family members who are contemptuous of the Christian faith and downright hostile to the whole thing. Others are empty nest couples who now have sons- or daughters-in-law to get adjusted to, maybe even grandchildren who are being reared, well, not exactly the way the grandparents would do it. Still others are young couples who are figuring out how to keep from offending family members who are watching the calendar, to see which side of the family gets more time on the ledger. And others are new parents, trying to figure out how to parent their child when it’s Mammonpalooza at Aunt Judie’s house this year. And, of course, there’s just always the kind of thing that happens when sinful people come into contact with one another. Somebody asks “When is the baby due?” to an unpregnant woman or somebody blasts your favorite political figure or…well, you know. Here are a few quick thoughts on what followers of Jesus ought to remember, especially if you’ve got a difficult extended family situation. 1. Peace Yes, Jesus tells us that his gospel brings a sword of division, and that sometimes this splits up families (Matt. 10:34-37). But there’s a difference between gospel division and carnal division (see 1 Cor. 1, e.g.). The Spirit brings peace (Gal. 5:22), and the sons of God are peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). Since that’s so, we ought to “strive for peace with everyone” (Heb. 12:14). Often, the divisiveness that happens at extended family dinner tables is not because an unbelieving family member decides to persecute a Christian. It’s instead because a Christian decides to go ahead and sort the wheat from the weeds right now, rather than waiting for Judgment Day (Matt. 13:29-30). Yes, the gospel exposes sin, but the gospel does so strategically, in order to point to Christ. Antagonizing unbelievers at a family dinner table because they think or feel like unbelievers isn’t the way of Christ. Some Christians think their belligerence is actually a sign of holiness. They leave the Christmas table saying, “See, if you’re not being opposed, then you’re not with Christ!” Sometimes, of course, divisions must come. But think of the qualifications Jesus gives for his church’s pastors. They must not be “quarrelsome” and they must be “well thought of by outsiders” (1 Tim. 3:3,7). That’s in the same list as not being a heretic or a drunk. Your presence should be one of peace and tranquility. The gospel you believe ought to be what disrupts. There’s a big difference. 2. Honor The Scripture tells us to fear God, to obey the king, and to honor (notice this) everyone (1 Pet. 2:17). If your parents are high-priests in the Church of Satan, they are still your parents. If cousin Betty V. does Jello shots in her car, just to take the edge off the cocaine, well, she still bears the imprint of the God you adore. You cannot do the will of God by opposing the will of God. That is, you can’t evangelize by dishonoring father and mother, or by disrespecting the image-bearers of God. Pray for God to show you the ways those in your life are worthy of honor, and teach your children to follow you in showing respect and gratitude. 3. Humility Part of the reason some Christians have such difficulty with unbelieving or nominally believing extended family members is right at this point. They see differences over Jesus as being of the same kind (just of a different degree) as our differences over, say, the war in Afghanistan or the future of Sarah Palin or the Saints’ winning streak this year. Often the frustration comes not because of how much Christians love their family members as much as how much these Christians want to be right. The professional Left and Right cable-TV and talk-radio pontificators may value the last word, but we can’t. Jesus never, not once, seeks to prove he is right, and he was accused of being everything from a wino to a demoniac. He rejects Satan’s temptation to force a visible vindication, waiting instead for God to vindicate him at the empty tomb. Often Christians veer toward Satanism at holiday time because we, deep down, pride ourselves on knowing the truth of the gospel. The rage you feel when Uncle Happy says why “many roads lead to God” might be more about the fact that you want to be right than that you want him to be resurrected. Plus, we often forget just how it is that we came to be in Christ in the first place. This wasn’t some act of brilliance, like being accepted into Harvard or some exertion of the will, like learning to put a Rubik’s cube together in 20 seconds. “What do you have that you did not receive,” the Apostle Paul asks us, “And if you received it, then why do you boast as though you didn’t receive it?” (1 Cor. 4:6-7) Satan wants to destroy you through his primal flaw, pride (1 Pet. 5:7-9; 1 Tim. 3:6). He doesn’t care if that pride comes through looking around the family table and figuring out how much more money you make than your second cousin-in-law or whether it comes by your looking around the table and saying, “Thank you Lord that I am not like these publicans.” The end result is the same (Prov. 29:23). Unless you’re in an exceptionally sanctified family, you’re going to see failing marriages, parenting crises, and a thousand other shards of the curse. If your response is to puff up as you look at your own situation, there’s a Satanist at your family gathering, and you’re it. 4. Maturity The Scripture tells us that if we follow Jesus we’ll follow the path he took: that’s through temptation, to suffering, and ultimately to glory. Often we think these testings are big, monumental things, but they rarely are. God will allow you to be tested. He’ll refine you, bring you to the fullness of maturity in Christ. He probably won’t do it by your fighting lions before the emperor or standing with a John 3:16 sign before a tank in the streets of Beijing. More likely, it will be through those seemingly little places of temptation—like whether you’ll love the belching brother-in-law at the other end of the table who wants to talk about how the Cubans killed JFK and how to make $100,000 a year selling herbal laxatives on the Internet. Some of the tensions Christians face at holiday time have nothing to do with outside oppression as much as internal immaturity on the part of the Christians themselves. I’ve had young men who tell me they feel treated like children when they go home to see their extended families. Their parents or parents-in-law are dictating to them where to go, when, and for how much time. Their parents or parent-in-law are hijacking the rearing of their children (”Oh, come on! He can watch Die Harder! Don’t be so strict!”). Some of these men just give in, and then seethe in frustration. Sometimes that’s because the extended family is particularly obstinate. But sometimes the extended family treats the young man like a child because that’s how he acts the rest of the year. Don’t live financially and emotionally dependent on your parents or in-laws, passively dithering in your decisions about your family’s future, and then expect them to see you as the head of your house. Be a man (if you are one). Make decisions (including decisions about where, and for how long, you’ll spend the holidays). Teach and discipline your children. Your extended family might not like it at first, but they’ll come to respect the fact that you’re leaving and cleaving, taking responsibility for that which has been entrusted to you. 5. Perspective Remember that you’ll give an account at the resurrection for every idle (that means seemingly tiny, insignificant, unmemorable) thought, word, and deed. At the Judgment Seat of the Lord Christ, you’ll be responsible for living out the gospel in every arena to which the Spirit has led you… including Aunt Flossie’s dining room table.” www.russellmoore.com . Used by permission.

Washington, Oregon, California and Vermont all have passed assisted suicide laws called “Death with Dignity” laws. These are the thoughts of Dr. Russell Moore concerning the ethics of assisted suicide. “The state assembly of California voted to allow legal assisted suicide. Lawmakers sent the bill allowing terminally ill people to purchase and use life-ending drugs to governor Jerry Brown. This news came just weeks after an astonishing report from Europe detailed a huge expansion of assisted suicide in the Netherlands and Belgium, an expansion so vast that even mainstream media outlets have labeled it “sinister.” The battle over expansive assisted suicide is not merely another skirmish in the “culture war.” Rather, it is an expression of one of the biggest religious alternatives to historic, orthodox Christianity in our world today. No, it’s not atheism or Islam. It’s the Grim Reaper. It’s Death itself. The well crafted arguments in favor of ending life for the ill, paralyzed and now the depressed and bored depend on the idea that death is just a natural part of life. There’s nothing necessarily evil or broken about it. So if one cannot bear the burden of an immobile body, an unwanted child, or an unresponsive spouse, you can just ease the transition from consciousness to annihilation. That’s not just a political position. It is a religion. Unfortunately, some have articulated this religion of death within the walls of the church. John Shelby Spong, the heretical retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, has argued that conservative Christian opposition to things like assisted suicide are rooted in a deficient theology of death. “Just as we have come to believe that St. Paul was wrong in his attitude toward women and homosexuality, we must now see that he was also wrong when he viewed death as an enemy, even the ‘last enemy’ that had to be destroyed,” Spong has written. “When Paul wrote those words, he was under the influence of the ancient biblical myth of creation.” Spong is right about one thing—a Christian attitude toward death is shaped by a view of creation. When the apostle Paul spoke of death as an enemy, he did so because he recognized that every funeral wreath echoes an ancient curse: “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). When Jesus wept openly at the death of Lazarus, he did so because death is not natural at all. It represents the enemy occupation of the cosmos, as the god of this age holds captive an entire race through guilt, condemnation, and the ravages of death. But American culture is increasingly schizophrenic about death. On the one hand, the culture treats death as just another medical treatment—embracing abortion, infanticide, suicide, and the euthanasia of the elderly and the sick. On the other hand, American culture is panicked by the thought of death. We idolize youth and beauty, injecting our wrinkles with Botox and sucking away our midlife pounds with liposuction. Americans act like ancient pagans, offering sacrifices to a capricious god in the hopes that he will leave them alone. But, deep in their consciences, Americans know this god will eventually come for them. They are afraid. As we seek to advocate for the unborn and the disabled, we must remember that the root issue here is not ideological or political. It is far more ancient than that. The issue really isn’t about scientific disputes as to whether or not the fetus is biologically human, or what kind of brain wave activity constitutes life. We all know the answers to these questions. The real issue is what the Wisdom of God tells us—“All who hate me love death” (Prov. 8:36). That means abortion and euthanasia are not just liberal, and they are not just mean. They are part of an ongoing guerilla insurgency against the image of the Creator himself. The cult of death means that Christians need to think through what it means to follow a resurrected Messiah. The Book of Hebrews points to the core of the gospel in the notion that the very Word of God took on our humanity so that “through the power of death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Heb 2:15-15). This means we need to stop trying to domesticate death. We need to learn to view it the way Jesus himself does—as an enemy to be destroyed. We need to learn to hate death. That will take a worldview shift for some of us. We sing songs about death as “one glad morning” and speak of a funeral as a happy “graduation day” for the believer. We know that Scripture says “to die is gain” but we forget that it also says that “to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). Our hope is not in death itself, but in the pioneer who has passed through the jaws of death—and will raise us with him never again to die. I remember a cartoon in the New Yorker magazine that depicted the Grim Reaper at home after a long day’s work, locking a series of security locks on his front door. The humor was that death itself might have something to fear. That’s not just a joke. It is the creed of the new paganism. As Christians we need to remind ourselves—and the watching world—that death claimed the cold corpse of an executed Jewish rabbi a couple of thousand years ago. We need to remind those who align themselves with the god of death that this dead rabbi’s heart started beating again one Sunday morning. When his blood-matted eyes opened in the darkness of that tomb, death was swallowed up in victory. He is at the door. And there aren’t enough deadbolts in the cosmos to keep him back. Unlike the rest of the culture, believers don’t cower in the face of death—and we don’t take it lightly either. We take refuge in the One who called Himself “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:24). We don’t whistle past the graveyard of our impending mortality. We look the Grim Reaper square in the eyes and—maybe with a lump in our throat—we ask him a question he first heard on a Sunday morning in a garden in Palestine: “And where now is your sting?” www.russellmoore.com . Used by permission.

Do you know the power of “Same?” Many of us are looking to set new goals, make new changes, and seek new results. However, the key to the changes we seek might not be in starting something new, but in committing to more of the same. In a society that celebrates whatever is “new” or “next,” the word “same” can have a negative connotation. Sameness can be seen as stagnant, stupid, stubborn, or scared. Therefore, it’s easy to overlook sameness so that we wouldn’t fall into a trap of doing things that don’t work, never change, and in fear the uncertain future. Yet while new is sought-after, change is celebrated. For example, successful marriages stand the test of time. Successful jobs are those that allow you to grow and progress within the same organization over time. Our God stands unchanging through time as the source of our strength. The power of same is the culmination of our consistency with Him. IF YOU RESIST THE MONOTONOUS, YOU’LL MISS THE MIRACULOUS Jesus said in John 15:1, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” We cannot grow without being connected to Christ, our source, and allowing God to prune and clean and make room for growth in our lives. This is the power of same—committing to the process of staying close to God and allowing Him to shape us as we grow and change over time. This monotonous process can seem unappealing, but it is the only way to truly experience lasting change. Joshua, when told to take the city of Jericho, obeyed God’s commands to march his army around the city for seven straight days. It’s significant to note that in Scripture, the number six is representative of the incomplete efforts of man, while the number of seven is indicative of the perfect completion of God. If Joshua would have resisted this monotony, he would have missed the miracle of seeing the wall fall on the seventh day. Many of the things we attribute to luck or happenstance can be achieved through a monotonous commitment to practice. If we want to meet our physical goals, we cannot resist the monotony of consistent diet and exercise. If we want to grow spiritually, we cannot resist consistent Bible reading, prayer, and worship. REPEAT THE RIGHT THINGS UNTIL THE ROUTINE IS THE REWARD In John 15:2, Jesus says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Spiritual growth is a continual process of allowing God to transform us by removing things that hurt us and opening ourselves up to allow His blessing to flow in our lives. This is how we train for activities or goals. Many desire the reward, but fewer appreciate the routine. Many of us struggle with change because we can become dissatisfied with our progress until we actually reach our desired goals. However, the mark of our maturity is our ability to repeat the right things until the routine becomes our reward. Repetition is what takes an action from the intellectual to the instinctual level. Just like learning a new skill, when we lock in the right patterns of living, the routine becomes the reward. YOU’LL NEVER ARRIVE IF YOU CAN’T ABIDE In John 15:3 (NKJV), Jesus spoke, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” This is the essence of the change we seek in any area of our lives—we will not arrive at our goals until we abide in the One responsible for creating, changing, and blessing us every day. The key to change is to remain with and abide in God everyday—HE is the power of same. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES John 15:1-5 Genesis 26:18 Joshua 6:11-20 1 Kings 18:43-44 2 Kings 5:13-14 Luke 4:16 Hebrews 13:8 Preached at Elevation Church by Steven Furtick. Used by permission.

I must admit I was speechless for close to an hour. I saw a video posted online, of an undercover operation in which Planned Parenthood’s top doctor is selling the body parts of aborted children. Having seen so many Internet hoaxes bandied about, I initially assumed this was one of them. After a few calls to respected figures in the pro-life community, though, who confirmed the accuracy of the video, I was speechless again. The undercover video shows Deborah Nucatola, Senior Director of Medical Services for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, explaining how Planned Parenthood sells the parts of aborted unborn children. The video shows her describing how the heads of these babies come at the highest price. If this does not shock the conscience, what will? It is not only that infants, in their mother’s wombs, are deprived of their lives, but also that their corpses are desecrated for profit. This is not only murderous; it is murderous in the most ghoulish way imaginable. For years, many of us have called on government leaders to see to it that no taxpayer funds, of any kind, go to Planned Parenthood. Is it not clear that these are not health-care providers but pirates and grave-robbers of those who have no graves? The Department of Justice and the United States Congress should undertake a thorough investigation of this. Is it any wonder that the abortion rights lobby held up congressional human trafficking legislation because it did not fund abortion? It turns out, abortion is itself a driver of human trafficking. Those who are deemed too “useless” to be considered persons are quite “useful” to be sold for parts. Those who are deemed “unwanted,” are quite “wanted” when their severed organs bring in money. The church of Jesus Christ should recommit ourselves to speaking out for human dignity. What we see in this instance is what has always been true of Planned Parenthood: Mammon worship in collision with the image of God, and the image is sacrificed on the altar of profiteering. This does not go unnoticed to God. He has said, “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey” (Isa. 10:1-2). The children torn apart in abortion facilities have no names, but God knows their names. They have no resting places but Jesus grants them rest. If we are called into the kingdom of a just Messiah, one who welcomes children, we should stand up and speak up for the vulnerable ones He loves. These children may be just another line item in the abortion industry’s profit ledger, but they share the humanity of our Lord Jesus—and we must plead for justice for them. It is time for the reborn to stand up for the unborn. www.russellmoore.com

Thank Goodness. Christmas Doesn’t Make Sense Through the power of the Internet, I am often able to look like I have my life all together. I know the things to tweet and the things to edit. I know the moments to Instagram and the ones to crop out like they never happened. I know what to say in conversations with friends to give the appearance of stability. But the truth is, all too often I kick my own life down a flight of stairs. I make mistakes. I blow opportunities. I chase distractions and hide. I make a mess of things. In those moments, I fear that perfection is the only path out of the chaos. That perhaps if I string together a few perfect days, I can repay the debts I’ve incurred from a life lived with brokenness. Only I can’t. I know that. I’ve tried that a thousand times before and it doesn’t work. My track record of perfect living is perfectly flawed. But then there’s Christmas. It’s not what I expected. It’s not what I deserved. It’s not what I can comprehend most days. Why? Because what is Christmas? It is the answer to the question, “Are you loved?” It is the answer to the question, “Do you matter?” It is the answer to the question, “Is there more to life than this?” Christmas is the answer to the question “Are You Loved?” And it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t. The gift of grace fails to line up with everything I know about the world. When you make a mistake, you pay for it with an equal consequence. When you have a debt, someone eventually calls you on the loan. You made your bed, now lie in it. That is how life works. But not Christmas. Christmas doesn’t work that way. Christmas is a gift from a sender who sent himself. Christmas is a raucous world defining expression of love. Christmas is enough because Christ is enough. And it’s here. Sometimes I try to fix myself. I look at my parade of mishaps, the failures bright and loud and think I have to fix it all. But I can’t. I can’t fix me, with me. And the good news of the gospel, the good news of Christmas, is that I don’t have to. I can’t fix me, with me. And the good news of Christmas is that I don’t have to. In fact, God knew I’d never be able to. That’s why he sent his son. That’s why he gave us Christmas. It’s a gift. Never feel your hands are too dirty to receive it. It was sent because our hands are too dirty. Christmas doesn’t make sense. Thank goodness. www.acuff.me . Used by permission.