Category Archives: christianity

Characteristics of Thankful People

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I thought this Thanksgiving week that it would be wise for us to take a Thanksgiving Quiz. This is not the standard Thanksgiving Quiz, with questions like, “How many turkeys can dance on the head of a pin?” Instead, the questions are more about your own heart of thankfulness.

So — let’s give it a try. There are ten T/F questions. Count every one you say “true” to:

  1. I follow Jesus’ example and give thanks for meals (John 6:11).
  2. When I sing songs to God, I am purposefully thanking him for his goodness to me.
  3. I have personally given thanks to God for his mercy in the past week (Psalm 136).
  4. I thank God for hard things that come into my life because of how he uses them to change my heart.
  5. I thank God for my church family.
  6. When I place my tithes and offerings in the plate, I am expressing my thanks to God.
  7. I thank God that I can do things for him (1 Timothy 1:12).
  8. I give thanks because I know it pleases God.
  9. When I catch myself being ungrateful, I apologize to God and thank him for his grace.
  10. I am careful not to give thanks simply with my lips, but also with heart.

How did you do? I hope you scored a ten, but whether you did well or not, it’s good to talk about being thankful. In this podcast, you discover three characteristics of thankful people.

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What does it mean to be unified?

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I came across this statement today. It struck me so strongly that I listened and listened until I could type it.

It starts with the most influential… actually loving one another and scheduling appointments to get together and to work on  a friendship. Not just hosting events.

When Christians think of unity they think of events. Events are nothing more than political statesmanship.

….

Unity is really less about doing events together and it’s more about doing life together and building friendship. — Mark Driscoll | Redeem Cities 2010: Mark Driscoll Session 2 

This applies to pastors working together. And to everyone else in the church.

The Lie about the Resurrection

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Have you ever felt like finding the truth is difficult? Think of the things that happen in our world. Whether it’s gossip in study hall at school, accusations of political candidates, or questions about who knew what and who did what in the latest scandal truth can sometimes be as slippery as an eel.

This past week, I came upon this quote: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” Who do you suppose said that? Let me give you some options: Fox News host, Bill O’Reilly? CNN host, Anderson Cooper? ESPN analyst John Clayton?

Read it again: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.” The man who said that is Blaise Pascal. He wrote that about 350 years ago. The reality that truth is hard to find is nothing new; the vulnerability of truth was first experienced by humankind in the Garden of Eden.

This podcast has to do with truth. Truth about Jesus. Truth about his resurrection. Truth about your life. Truth about your forgiveness. Truth about your walk with God.

Listen in and uncover the importance of truth.

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