63 results found

Visiting the orphan with gospel hope

October 31, 2014 | adoption, Christ, fatherless, Gary Combs, God, gospel, hope, jesus, orphan, widow

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27 ESV). This coming Sunday is “Orphan Sunday.” Our church is joining churches around the country by setting apart the first Sunday in November to focus on

“My” church vs. “His” church thinking

October 17, 2014 | Christ, church, church membership, Gary Combs, God, kingdom, serve, service, volunteer, worship

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” (Psalm 122:1 ESV). As Americans, we are so accustomed to having things our own way that it should come as no surprise that we bring this way of thinking into the church. We tend to approach church attendance and church membership with

Fish symbols and generosity

October 9, 2014 | Christ, Gary Combs, generosity, giving, God, grace, jesus

“You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ” (2 Cor. 9:13 NLT). Some years ago I had a conversation with my son about his job at the car wash… “How did work go today?” I asked. “Fine.” He

Tattoos, tribes and true community

October 3, 2014 | Christ, church, community, family, fellowship, Gary Combs, God, jesus

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42 (ESV) What makes a true community? People use the word community to describe all sorts of social groups. But what constitutes a “true” (real, authentic, fully realized) community? If we are born into the same race or family, does

Bible memorization and business cards

September 19, 2014 | bible, Gary Combs, God, jesus, Lord, memorization, Scripture, Scripture memory, Word

“… he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law …It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these

Do you use S.O.A.P daily?

September 12, 2014 | Christ, disciple, discipleship, Gary Combs, God, habits, jesus, prayer, quiet time, solitude, spiritual disciplines

“Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NIV). “Daily.” There’s something about daily habits. What we do every day eventually adds up to weeks, months, years, and even a lifetime. Daily habits, while seemingly small

The need to belong

August 22, 2014 | belonging, Christ, connecting, Gary Combs, God, guatemala, jesus, Uganda

“Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian” (Ephesians 2:19 TLB). Belonging was formally recognized as one of the most profound human needs by American psychologist, Abraham Maslow. In a 1943

Taking time to celebrate

August 15, 2014 | celebrate, celebration, Christ, Gary Combs, God, God's Son, guatemala, jesus, WCC, worship

“It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32 ESV). In the parable of the prodigal son, the older brother complains to his father about the party that’s being planned to celebrate the return of his younger brother. His killjoy spirit

The worth of having nothing

August 8, 2014 | Christ, comfort, Gary Combs, God, joy, lack, missions, plenty, relationships, simplicity, worth

“Those things were important to me, but now I think they are worth nothing because of Christ. Not only those things, but I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8 NCV). We just returned from ten days in Guatemala. Ten days of having no

God at work in Guatemala

July 31, 2014 | Gary Combs, God, guatemala, missions, pastors

“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’” (John 5:19 NIV). This is my first visit to Guatemala. Since this is the third year our church has