85 results found

Moving from selfie to healthy

September 1, 2017 | Christ, community, friendship, God, health, oneness, selfie, selfishness, spiritual

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3 (NLT) Welcome to the “Selfie” Generation! We live in a culture that encourages us to focus on self-worth, self-improvement, and self-esteem. Our self-image seems to be more important to us than a true sense of health

Leaving 2016

January 1, 2017 | future, God, hope, jesus, memories, New Year, painful memories, past, present, worry

“For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 52:12 ESV). We’ve all heard the cliche, “Out with the old, and in with the new.” Yet, people are not computers with hard drives that can be erased

Giving good gifts at Christmas

December 22, 2016 | Christ, christmas, gifts, God, jesus

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:10-11 (ESV) How do you celebrate Christmas? Decorations, lights, a tree, special foods and candies… I’m

Questions about Rockin’ Christmas?

December 16, 2016 | Christ, christmas, Gary Combs, God, gospel, mission, outreach, Rockin Christmas

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those

4 Ways to Celebrate Your First Love

September 1, 2016 | celebrate, Gary Combs, God, great commandment, jesus, love, worship

“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4 NKJV). “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30 ESV). Have you noticed that we tend to celebrate what we love

The joy and sorrow of cross cultural ministry

June 24, 2016 | Christ, church, church growth, cross cultural ministry, God, gospel, hispanic, jesus, nations

“And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27 ESV). I’m a little sad. We recently had to close the door on our Hispanic ministry. We launched our Spanish-speaking worship services on Easter Sunday 2012 and within two

What motivates your God questions?

May 20, 2016 | agnostic, belief, Christ, faith, Gary Combs, God, jesus, questioning, questions, understanding

“And Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years’” (Luke 1:18 ESV). “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34 ESV). As a pastor, I get a lot of “God questions.”

Loving the sojourner

April 29, 2016 | Christ, foreigner, God, jesus, love, sojourner, stranger, surprise

“He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19 ESV). What is a “sojourner?” The dictionary defines it as “one who resides temporarily in a place.” Other Bible versions translate it as “stranger,

Two tombs that point to resurrection life

April 1, 2016 | Christ, Gary Combs, God, Israel, jesus, Lazarus, life, resurrection, tomb

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again. ‘ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you

Easter means… hope

March 24, 2016 | Christ, easter, God, hope, jesus, living hope, resurrection, return

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 ESV). “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest