Category: Formational Theology

Just wanted to pass along a great article. Please see this link, "Beyond a Purpose-Driven Life."...

It bears repeating that a closer relationship with God is not merely an abstraction or a statement about our official standing with Him, but something we actually experience. Often we hear Christian leaders tell us that we should not go on feelings because God is present whether or not...

When Jesus was preparing for his final moments, he spent an evening with his disciples which we now refer to as "the last supper." During that time with them, he gave a "final discourse" in which he explained quite a lot about how their relationship was going to change...

I was struck today by how much the book of Colossians says about the Kingdom. It seems to be Paul’s dominate theme in the letter. All throughout the text he uses Kingdom language to encourage and challenge his readers. “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and...

"According to the law, all things are cleansed with blood … but if the blood of lambs could have truly cleansed those who offered them, the people would have stopped making sacrifices. Now Jesus died once, because he has truly cleansed those who believe." (Heb.9-10, paraphrase). For a long...

Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). While these words are familiar, I think a lot of us hear something more like, "You should really want to give more instead of receive." For some reason, many of us hear Jesus presenting a dichotomy...

During my last 25+ years of recovery, I have repeatedly run into a relatively small number of recurring themes that seem to be foundational to the process of restoring and growing our emotional and spiritual health. Nearly every problem related to repeated cycles of defeat or getting stuck in life has...

One of the most common ways that Christians talk about their faith is to say that they have “a relationship with God.” I hope that is true for them. I know many Christians whose lives reflect an intimate, ongoing interactive connection between them and God. And for that we...

Warning: The following definition of legalism may upset some people. Legalism is not just "going through the motions" of the Christian life, nor is it only a problem in the church down the street which has more rules than we do.  Legalism, is the belief and attempt to become more...

At the Knowing Christ conference last week John Ortberg offered a wonderful metaphor for the process of spiritual formation in which he tells of an experience he had sometime ago. He was at a "ropes course" where they have you do things 20 and 30 feet in the air, with...