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Cameron Townsend
As a young California farm boy, Cameron Townsend had aspirations of becoming a schoolteacher. By the time he graduated high school, however, he had his heart set on becoming a preacher instead. Little did he know that God would use both of these passions to reach hundreds of thousands of people around the globe with the Gospel message.
Gladys Aylward
On paper, Gladys Aylward had none of the proper qualifications to be a missionary. She had failed out of the China Inland Missionary Society’s training school in London. She had no education, no useful skills, no money or missionary society to back her, and at 27 she was old by missionary standards. But what she did have was the most important qualification of all: a willingness to serve God and follow Him wherever He led her.
Hudson Taylor
By the time Hudson Taylor was 17, he knew that God was calling him to take the Gospel message to the unreached people of China. He spent the next few years studying medicine and learning valuable lessons in trusting God.
George Muller
Oh, what a man of immense faith! After a misspent youth living as a thief who only cared about himself, God got ahold of George Muller’s heart. Though he initially had plans to travel to distant, exotic lands to share the gospel, a providential encounter with a 5-year-old girl on the streets of Bristol in Victorian England changed the course of his life.
Heroes of the Faith
Last month, our women’s team gathered over lunch, and—as is fairly common these days—our conversation led to the various difficulties in our lives and the lives of those around us. As we shared, stories of various Heroes of the Faith kept coming up as examples of encouragement in our walk with God. The more we talked, the more we felt the need to share these stories with you…stories of men and women whose heart’s desire was to become like Jesus and join Him on mission.
Be Like Me
Have you ever thought about the person in the Bible you most relate to? For me, it’s the Apostle Peter. He was impulsive and outspoken, capable of fierce loyalty and love, and equally prone to despair and doubt. Peter’s human frailties are front and center in many of the stories featuring him in the Bible. And yet, with all of his faults, from the very first moment he heard Jesus call, he responded. The Bible says that he immediately – at once – left everything behind and followed Jesus. He literally left everything he had, and simply followed Jesus.
Resources for Dealing with Shame
In our Come Find Your Mercy Sermon Series, Craig Smith explains that shame is one of the greatest enemies of the Good News because it tells us we’re forgiven but still not worthy. We know that dealing with shame can be difficult. We put together some additional resources to help you step out from under the cloud of shame so that you can enjoy the light of God’s mercy.
Bible Reading Plans | Staff Picks
In our Fresh Wind sermon series, Craig Smith reminded us that we want to be listening to God’s spirit. One of the best ways that you can know God’s voice is by reading the Bible. A reading plan can help you to develop the habit of reading the Bible. Colin McFarland and Kelly McSparran unpack a few of our staff picks for Bible reading plans – there is something for every season of life. Whether your Bible has been collecting dust or you have been to seminary, you can grow in your faith by learning more from God’s Word.
Parental Survival Guide for a Pandemic
Right when I thought I had heard every crazy thing possible with regard to COVID 19, a few weeks ago I read a mind-numbing article online pertaining to an amusement park in Japan. According to the article, this amusement park began telling patrons that they had to wear a mask at all times and especially while riding the roller-coaster. They posted a sign at the beginning of the ride which read: “IF YOU FEEL THE NEED TO SCREAM, YOU MUST SCREAM IN YOUR HEART, NOT OUT LOUD”.
9 Bible Verses That Can Encourage Your Heart
It is natural to have seasons of discouragement as you deal with life’s challenges – especially in the midst of COVID. You are not alone and God has given you His Word to encourage and equip you to deal with what you are facing. The Bible is full of encouragement to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus so that you can find hope, peace, and joy.
Week 4 | Take Off the Mask + Enjoy the Ride
Right when I thought I had heard every crazy thing possible with regard to COVID 19, a few weeks ago I read a mind-numbing article online pertaining to an amusement park in Japan. According to the article, this amusement park began telling patrons that they had to wear a mask at all times and especially while riding the roller-coaster. They posted a sign at the beginning of the ride which read: “IF YOU FEEL THE NEED TO SCREAM, YOU MUST SCREAM IN YOUR HEART, NOT OUT LOUD”.
Week 3 | Son, Read Your Bible + Pray
A young man was in prison. While he was incarcerated he reached out to his mother and asked her for some money. “Mom, life in here is very difficult. I could really use $500 to help me get the things I need to survive this ordeal.” His mom responded by saying, “Son, read your Bible and pray.” The young man was excited the next week when he received a package from his mom but he was very disappointed by the contents…a Bible with a note attached: “Son, read your Bible and pray.”
Week 2 | God is Willing + Able
Dallas Theological Seminary opened its doors in 1924. Shortly thereafter it almost had to close them, for good! The school was out of funds and the creditors were ready to foreclose on the land. The very day that DTS was scheduled to be foreclosed on the founding fathers of the school gathered for a time of prayer. They, “humbled themselves” and pleaded with God to forestall the foreclosure. One of the men who was present that day, Dr. Harry Ironside, prayed a bold prayer. He made a “big-ask” of God.
Week 1 | If We Humble Ourselves + Pray
The first person to invent the wheel was a genius. But he only copied what God had already designed into the universe, for the Lord created things in circles. The stars and planets are round, they move in orbital circuits, and life, as a result, moves in cycles. Every one-hundred years, we have a new century; every 365 days, we have a new year; every 24 hours, we have a new day; every 60 minutes we have a new hour. God designed the potential for a new beginning into the very fabric of the universe in which He placed us.
What the Bible Says About Fear and Anxiety
God understands what fear and anxiety does to us, but he has so much more that he wants for us. That’s why he tells us over 100 times in the Bible “do not fear” or “do not be anxious.” Just as God knows what anxiety does to us, we have an enemy who studies our weaknesses and seeks to use them against us. Fear and anxiety are tools of the enemy.
Do Not Lose Heart
John 9 tells of Jesus’ encounter with a man who was blind from birth. Jesus mixes his own saliva with some dirt and spreads the muddy mixture on the man’s eyes. He instructs him to go wash in a pool and the man miraculously goes home seeing. Having been trapped in darkness his entire life, Jesus grants him sight while proclaiming, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).
Driving Out Fear
Waves sweep dangerously over the bow of their boat as the disciples straining at the oars to keep afloat. Stormy winds rage all around them. Jesus, who stayed ashore to pray on a mountainside, sees their struggle from afar and walks across the swirling waves to be with them in their struggle.
When the World Turns Upside Down
As we’ve experienced in the past few weeks, life can be wildly unpredictable. It seems that our world turned upside down in a matter of days as the coronavirus spread across the globe. How do we find peace in the midst of such turbulence and uncertainty? Horatio Spafford was no stranger to life’s unexpected challenges. As a successful Chicago lawyer, Horatio started a family with his wife Anna. They had five children.
A Living Hope
Spoken by two of Jesus’ disciples as they departed from Jerusalem after Jesus’ crucifixion, these dejected words reveal their hopelessness. Instead of rescuing Israel from Roman’s iron grip, Jesus had died shamefully at their hands. And so the hope that they had pinned on Jesus seemed completely lost.
Embracing a New Future
“I have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things!” protests Bilbo Baggins when an uninvited and rather odd wizard appears at his doorstep one fine morning. As the main character of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Bilbo, like most hobbits, views adventures as unwanted nuisances and disruptions to his comfortable and rather sedentary lifestyle.
Facing Change Courageously
“I wonder how long God wants us to stay here.” These words tumbled out of my mouth while walking with my wife around the neighborhood where we had moved to just a few years earlier. Even now, more than 15 years later, I still remember the quizzical look she gave me.
After moving to a new town a few years earlier, we had settled in. We had a close community of friends, a church we loved, and good jobs that we enjoyed. We even bought our first place and poured hours into fixing it up. Why would we move again?
