Online Discipleship

1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV) 10The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “ Speak, for your servant is listening .” I am really bad at silence. Like, just awful at it. I grew up in a family that couldn't stand silence. Music had to be on constantly, or a movie had to be playing in the background, or someone had to be talking. For the most part, peace wasn't about being quiet as much as it was about not being in conflict. I didn't realize this about me until my wife, Tristan, and I started dating. A few weeks in, and I had talked about pretty much everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. I shared my embarrassing stories, my funny experiences, and discussed everything that was on my mind. I was desperate. I thought she was going to be bored with me if I couldn't come up with new material. Surely there was going to be someone more interesting who would come along if I didn't come up with something soon. Finally, as we drove back to ...

  What is the Gospel? "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."  (Mark 1:1)      What comes to your mind when you hear "good news"? Maybe it is getting a raise at work, getting a good grade on a test, an engagement, a birth, a vacation, or someone healing from a sickness. Whatever it may be that is considered good news, it usually depends on the one looking at it. An example of this that comes to mind is the fact that the good news of one person getting a promotion means the bad news that someone else did not.       When you are in Christian circles you will quickly hear the fact that the word Gospel means good news. If you were to ask most Christians what the gospel or the good news of Christianity was, you would most likely hear a reply that goes something like this:  "The message of the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins and we get to live with Him forever when He returns to set things right." Granted, the phr...

 The Bible: Who is it About and How Do We Read it?     The Bible is a book that has made major impacts throughout history. This is true whether you believe it is more than just an old book or not. For those who believe that it is truly God's inspired word, we need to ensure we are reading it well.       When it comes to reading the Bible, we can tend to run into some serious issues. We might try and make the Bible about us or we might use a verse to justify a decision that we are making (even if that verse has absolutely nothing to do with that decision), but if we do not approach the Bible in the way it was meant to be approached, then we will be robbed of the beauty of God's story.  Who is the Bible About?      Here is the main thing we need to understand about the Bible: It is not about us! Yes, it is for us, and because of this, we can learn a lot from it, but once we try to put ourselves as the central point of scripture then w...