85 results found

Stop going to church

March 18, 2016 | Christ, church, church growth, family, God, grace, Spirit, witness

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom

Proclamation follows passion

March 11, 2016 | Christ, evangelism, Gary Combs, God, gospel, jesus, passion, proclamation, sharing, witness, witnessing

“In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 ESV). “What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45 NLT).

Gospel-centered living

March 3, 2016 | Christ, church, easter, Gary Combs, God, good news, gospel, jesus

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:5-6 ESV). Over the next few weeks we will be discussing how making the gospel the center focus of our lives will

Generous ears

February 12, 2016 | generosity, generous, gift of listening, God, hear, jesus, listening

“Who among you will give ear to this,     will attend and listen for the time to come?” (Isaiah 42:23 ESV). “Lend me your ears” (Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give another is the gift of listening. In a world where everyone is busy expressing their opinion on social

Displaying the selfless generosity of God

February 5, 2016 | Christ, generosity, generous, give, God, grace, jesus

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2 ESV). “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.

Rank strangers

January 22, 2016 | Gary Combs, God, heaven, jesus, ralph stanley, rank stranger, Wilda Dillon Combs, willow branch quartet

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.In My Father’s house are many mansions;if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I

What do Muslims think of us?

January 15, 2016 | attitude, Christian, community, God, jesus, love, Muslim, relationships, Spirit

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind… Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:1-2, 5 ESV).

That we might become His righteousness

January 8, 2016 | Christ, God, jesus, righteous, righteousness, sin, sinful

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV). How is this possible? How can we possibly be called the “righteousness of God?” The truth is, it isn’t possible through human effort, but God made it possible through

Do you have a generosity plan for 2016?

January 1, 2016 | blessing, generosity, generous, gift, giving, God, jesus

“He who has a generous eye will be blessed” (Proverbs 22:9 NKJV). What does it mean to have a “generous eye?” The Hebrew word translated “generous” might also be translated as “bountiful, merciful, or good.” A generous eye is a good eye. When I played Little League baseball as a kid, and stood fast at bat on a bad

Do you know the grace of generosity?

December 18, 2015 | christmas, church, generosity, gift, giving, God, jesus, sacrifice

“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT). “Generosity is what keeps the things we own from owning us” (Anonymous). Many of us begin thinking and planning what