Posted by: willgoodwin
People always ask, “What does an oak leaf have to do with Christianity and/or church?” The honest, real answer – absolutely nothing. The name originally came from a neighborhood in Jacksonville, FL (That’s a long story I’ll tell some other time).
When I was called out to be a church planter, I spent a considerable amount of time praying about whether I should come up with a new name or stick with the one that I inherited. Obviously, I kept ...
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The opposition brought against Paul and the disciples revealed the Ephesian’s affinity for an identity that would not last long.
EVERY COMMUNITY WILL CHANGE
The only thing a community can hold onto that will not change is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul hoped they would choose the one true God over Artemis as their new identity.
NOT EVERYONE WILL LIKE THE CHANGE
Jesus told us in Matthew 10:16-22 people will hate us for trying to live our lives like Jesus. The ...
Posted by: willgoodwin
Our February Big Give is all about giving back.
Posted by: willgoodwin
Our January Big Give was called the Great Grace Race. I’m sure this is not an original idea but I’ve never heard of another church doing it quite like this. The intent was to do as many acts of kindness as we could in a short period of time. It was obviously more about the grace than the race but we set a time limit from 11-2 so families could be involved together and we so we might hit to ...
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The people of Ephesus were involved with some crazy stuff until Paul showed up with a message with real power.
PAUL IS USED BY GOD
To the not so careful observer, one would think it was Paul performing miracles. No, it was God “by the hands of Paul.”
PRETENDERS TRY TO USE GOD
There is a big difference between God using us and us trying to use God. The Jewish exorcists learned the hard way.
PRAISE WAS LIFTED TO GOD
You’ll see in ...
Posted by: willgoodwin
And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, ...
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Posted by: willgoodwin
Stephen is widely considered the first martyr of the Christian faith because he was stoned outside the city for professing Jesus as the Messiah and only way for eternal salvation. Do we consider him a martyr only because he died a brutal death for his faith?Is that all we need to learn from the character of Stephen?
The word martyr comes from the Greek word for witness – martys (scroll down to see Greek and Biblical reference). The modern definition ...
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Last year about this time, my oldest son had zero interest in sports. Come late October, it was all he could talk about. I’ll never forget coming home and him, as soon as I opened the door, running to me, PlayStation controller in hand, asking ever so gently, “Father, would you be so kind as to play Madden NFL 11 with me?” Well, that’s how I remember it anyway.He wants to play but it’s too late to sign up. We ...
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This video fascinates me. I’ve watched it several times. I want to know how do utilize these ideas to impact the Church.
The Jesus Juke is to throw in the line about “making the world a better place only comes by knowing Jesus.”
But I want to know how to connect with people who have jobs, crazy busy schedules, sports practices for the kids, multiple hobbies, ...
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I love to read. I want to read more so I started a virtual book club. Want to join? Here is the book we are reading:
In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement by J.I. Packer and Mark Dever
Here’s the plan:
