Posts

Showing posts from October, 2020

Following Jesus in a World That Hates Him

by Bart Denny Central Text: John 15:18-25 We've come to part five of our series, The Upper Room Way , where we've been listening in on Jesus' parting words to His original disciples, and seeking to understand how they call us to counter-cultural living today. We all understand visible allegiance Sometimes it is a wedding ring. Sometimes it is a team jersey. Sometimes it is a company badge, a logo on a hat, a sign in the yard, or a bumper sticker on the back of a vehicle. Those things communicate something before you ever open your mouth. People see them and immediately make an assumption: You belong over there. You are with them. That is your side. Most of the time, that kind of allegiance doesn't cost you much. But some allegiances get expensive. Some loyalties change the room. Raise the temperature.  Some loyalties make people pull back.  Some loyalties make you stand out. That's where many Christians feel the tension. It's one thing to be associ...

A Yielded Life: God’s Battleplan for Christian Victory

 As I write this, we are on the brink of another national election here in the United States. I have to admit that, right or wrong, I’ve kind of tuned out from the news and especially the election coverage.  I mean, to be honest, I wasn’t recovered from the last election. I’ve tuned out the banter around the election because it’s bad enough to look on TV or the internet and watch the candidates and their surrogates sniping, bickering, and fighting back and forth.   That’s bad enough, but it’s even worse when I look on social media, and it’s friends and family, people I love and care about that are fighting. It’s people who claim to know and love the Lord that are very publicly shredding each other. You dare criticize their candidate, then you’re probably not even a Christian as far as they’re concerned. Honestly, it makes me sad. It feels like so many Christians are convinced that if Jesus was here on earth today, He would vote exactly the way they would.   Per...