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Non-title post June 18, 2014

Report of Special IMC Sabbath

Zone 4 Asia May 17, 2014   It was a great joy and blessing to be united in the Spirit of fellowship with believers in all CoG7 congregations in India and Myanmar. In Hyderabad, India, Elder Jacob Rao started the special IMC Sabbath service with prayer and reading of Philippians 4:4-7. He then presented a […]

Non-title post June 18, 2014

The Uncomfortable Word

They ate bugs and said things that could get them killed . . . did get them killed. One came soon before, one soon after. They had average names but did not live average lives. They had embraced a radical Christianity – one that couldn’t care less what the status quo thought of the strange […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

Practice Love

With only two words, she rocked my world. In a sentence I don’t remember, within a presentation I can barely remember, Dr. Brené Brown rocked my world. A handful of Lodi CoG7’s leaders and I were attending last summer’s Global Leadership Summit at a satellite location. In a line that I doubt was even in […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

Most Glorious Idea

God created the church to be eternal. This is a basic Christian conviction: Nothing created lasts forever. Where is ancient Babylon? Persia? The Greeks? The Roman Empire? Other great civilizations? History testifies that impressive things of the past are now only ruins, and those of the present shall be also. All earthly things are coming […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

Church Is Family

Jesus had some difficult things to say about family. When He was so pressed by the crowds that He and His disciples could not find time even to eat, Jesus’ mother and siblings came to His rescue. But Jesus didn’t accept their reprieve as expected. Instead He asked, “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

Number One Purpose

What is the number one responsibility of the church? Is it to have a one-, two-, or eight-hour service on the Sabbath once a week? Is it for small group or youth group programs? Is it to entertain or uphold the traditions of the previous generation? Is it to be a Band-Aid for broken lives? […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

The Church

In 1943 psychologist Abraham Maslow presented his hierarchy of human needs. In second priority Maslow puts esteem, the need for acceptance and belonging — finding people who will take you in as part of the “pack.” In my youth I often jumped from one peer group to another. I’d adapt to their terms, and when […]

Non-title post April 30, 2014

Plain Church

The Church Number One Purpose Church Is Family Most Glorious Idea Practice Love

Non-title post February 25, 2014

My Lord and My God

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).   I have known situations in which a person’s connection to Christ has been based mostly or wholly on another’s relationship with Christ. Examples include a son’s or daughter’s connection through their parents, one who falls in love with a strong […]

Non-title post February 25, 2014

Jesus Plus What?

One Sabbath morning in a small Midwestern church, the pastor quoted Romans 4:24 like this: “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we obey him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”  “Amen!” someone said. The pastor replied, “No, the text does not say obey. It says, believe!” Since […]