We know we should be generous, we want to be generous, but how can we actually become a generous people?
In this episode, Rachel talks with Patrick Johnson, the founder of Generous Church, and Mark Carden, Clear Creek’s Executive Pastor, about practical ways to cultivate generosity in our hearts, our family, and churches so that we can be on mission as the body of Christ.
We live with a scarcity mindset of comparison and fear, but the Bible calls us to a completely different way of life.
In this episode, Rachel Chester sits down with Patrick Johnson, visionary and founder of Generous Church, a ministry with the hope of spreading generosity as a way of life throughout the entire globe.
Why do we struggle with generosity, how it is central to our faith, and how can we can cultivate generosity in our hearts? Patrick discusses these questions and more.
You hear a sermon in a worship service and you leave encouraged, challenged, convicted, or joyful because of the teaching of the word of God.
But there’s lot involved in the preparation.
On this episode, Ryan Lehtinen talks with Yancey Arrington and Aaron Lutz about what goes into writing and preaching a sermon. They also talk about the sermons they’ve heard that greatly impacted their lives.
Do I have to be baptized?
The answer is no and yes, but if that’s frustrating to you, check out this video to learn the loaded answer.
A little girl was asked by her parents about her time at church that day. She replied, “It was no fun. Someone got to go swimming and I didn’t!”
Baptism is an ordinance that Christians have practiced for two millennia.
Why do we do it? What does it symbolize? Who is it for?
On this episode, Ryan Lehtinen talks with Chris Alston and Aaron Lutz about these questions, and they share some impactful baptism stories.
Interested in getting baptized? Learn more HERE
What do Van Gogh paintings, antibiotics, the International Space Station, and microwave ovens have in common?
In a very real way, they are all gifts from God. How so? Let’s listen to Philippians 4:8, a well-known passage from Paul the apostle:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
For years, Paul’s words to the church at Philippi have fascinated me because I used to think the apostle was calling believers to discern and embrace the good from Christianity.
But upon further reflection, that makes no sense.
The faith is entirely good and needs no discernment. Therefore, it’s more likely Paul is calling believers to discern and utilize the good, wise, and true things they find in society.
Indeed, biblical scholars note the list Paul gives is representative of the virtues celebrated in the Greek Hellenistic society of that day. For example, the famous philosopher Cicero, who was a contemporary of the apostle, said, “But what is there in man better than a mind that is wise and good?… all that is lovely, honorable, commendable.” Wow! It’s almost a mirror of Paul’s list.
Furthermore, commentator Dr. Gordon Fee concludes,
“Paul is telling [the Philippian church] not so much to ‘think high thoughts’ [but] to ‘take into account’ the good they have long known from their own past, as long as it is conformable to Christ … to encourage the Philippians that even though they are ‘citizens of heaven,’ … they do not altogether abandon the world in which they used to, and still do, live.”¹
This call for Christians to discern and utilize the goodness and wisdom of the world may surprise some, but it’s not astonishing for those who know about the biblical doctrine of common grace.
Common grace, also referred to as general grace, concerns God’s goodness which extends to all his creation — things that are ‘common’ or ‘general’ to all humanity like order, art, science, creativity, etc. Scripture refers to God’s common grace in places like Matt. 5:45, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust”; Psalm 145:9, “The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made”; and Luke 6:35, “… for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Consider the following human activities:
These are all examples of engaging the truth, goodness, and wisdom of God’s common grace in a society. We do this every day without knowing it. Yet, Philippians 4:8 reminds us to do so discerningly (“whatever is…”), because not everything in culture is good, true, or beautiful.
Culture and society are broken by sin, and thus are mixed bags of good and bad, beauty and ugliness, truth and lies. That’s why the apostle says followers of Jesus should neither outright reject all its products nor swallow it whole but parse out and engage the commendable, excellent, and true within it.
For example, maturing Christians will be those who increasingly aren’t fearful of the common graces of science, technology, or medicine. They recognize how unbelieving culture can, with discernment, produce great things of worth that are good, true, and beautiful gifts.
Gifts like Van Gogh paintings, antibiotics, the International Space Station, and microwave ovens.
Footnotes
I can’t remember a time in my life without God. However, several years ago I walked through a season of doubt that was difficult, scary, lonely, and isolating.
What can Christians do when they are beginning to question everything they have ever believed?
I grew up in a loving Christian home and attended a healthy church that taught me to love God and his word. Some of my earliest childhood memories are singing along with Christian songs on tape in the back seat of my mom’s car and rushing off to AWANA with my dad, and for that foundation I am grateful. But through a long series of events, I began to experience doubts that sent me spiraling downward:
Does God even really exist?
Did we just make him up to help us deal with life and death?
If a higher power does exist, how can we know he resembles the God of the Bible?
Do I only believe in God because Christianity is all I’ve ever known?
I was pierced by so many questions that it felt like I was playing Jenga, pulling out all of the pieces and wondering if the whole tower would come crashing down. It was hard for me to even read my Bible because every time I opened it up, I was faced with the constant assault of nagging questions that threatened to dismantle everything I had based my life upon.
I kept this struggle private for a long time, not feeling permission to ask these questions and worrying what other people would say about me if I actually verbalized some of these doubts. But everything seemed to change when I opened up to other people, sharing my fears and struggles. I still had all the same questions, but the questions weren’t quite as scary anymore.
I still struggle with doubt, and I probably always will. Going through those struggles changed and shaped me in profound ways that I’m still trying to understand. The questions still remain, but I have to remind myself that questions are not a bad thing. I want a real, robust, and genuine faith that is based on the truth, not just on something someone else told me. I still don’t like to face the doubts, but I know that the faith I have on the other side of the struggle is deeper, stronger, richer, and more historically rooted than I ever had before.
This short article can’t possibly cover all the various reasons, motivations, and struggles that can accompany someone who is walking through a season of doubt. But I’d like to offer a few pieces of advice for anyone who might see a bit of themselves in my story:
Talk to Someone
You don’t have to fight this battle alone.
Give yourself permission for sincere doubt.
The church is the best place to bring your questions; find someone who you trust and open up about your struggles.
Keep Asking Questions
Doubt is not a sin.
It is part of being human and can be a healthy part of our spiritual growth.
Stay curious!
Keep a Soft Heart
It is possible to think critically with your mind while still maintaining a gentle spirit.
Our quest for truth should not leave us in a place where we are cynical, resentful, angry, or stubborn.
Wrestling through the toughest questions in life is not always easy, simple, convenient, or pretty, but it doesn’t have to be lonely, scary, or painful. We can find joy in the journey. The hard work of faith is worth it to know God and look more like him.
I believe; help my unbelief!
Mark 9:24b
In our most recent series, Reclaiming [Your] Faith, we’ve been talking about what the Bible has to say about diversity, intellectualism, justice and sexuality.
For some, how they’ve seen those who follow Jesus respond to these issues has caused them to question, deconstruct, and even deconvert from Christianity.
On this episode, Ryan Lehtinen sat down with Kyle Mikulan to discuss what it means for someone to deconstruct their faith and how you can walk with someone who is going through that process.
Even within the Christian faith, there are differing opinions on doctrines like baptism, leadership, and spiritual gifts.
How can we know what is of primary importance and what is secondary?
Should we even care about these differences?
In this episode, Rachel Chester talks with Yancey Arrington about the diversity of beliefs within Christianity and how we can faithfully strive for both truth and unity.
When asked what the greatest commandment (i.e. the most important commandment) in the Old Testament law was, Jesus said to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.
All the laws of the Old Testament essentially boil down to these two things: love God and love others.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
— Matthew 22:36-39
We are called to love God with everything, including our mind.
But how can we love God like that?
How do we live a thoughtful life?
Here are 3 things you must know and a few resources to help you learn more.
1. Know Who You Believe In
You have to first know God as he has revealed himself in the Bible. One of the charges against many Christians today is that they simply don’t know what the Bible says. They might know a few passages because they appear on social media posts with pretty backgrounds or coffee mugs, or because those are the verses they memorized as children. But, it seems, the Christian tradition of reading and knowing the Bible is not as strong as it once was.
We believe the Bible is God’s word and that it was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Christians have always affirmed that it is the supreme source of truth for their beliefs and living.
But the only way to discover and understand the truths God reveals in the Bible is to read it for yourself.
And if you want some added help understanding things, get an ESV Study Bible or take our How to Study the Bible class in the fall.
Better yet, don’t do it alone. Join a small group to read, discuss, and apply God’s word in community.
To love God with your mind, you have to know God as he’s revealed himself in Scripture.
2. Know What You Believe In
You have to know what you believe and the core beliefs that Christians throughout history have stacked hands on. Studying theology can help you do that.
We’ve also posted the essential beliefs of our church on our website. Frankly, they are pretty generic essential beliefs similar to what you’d find on many church websites.
But know that those generic–sounding beliefs you see on church websites have been carefully crafted, formed by Scripture, and debated at different points throughout the history of the church.
We don’t take them for granted and neither should you.
To learn more, here are two great resources to get you started:
3. Know Why you Believe In It
You have to know why you believe what you believe, and, at least to some degree, be able to explain and defend what you believe. There’s actually a name for the defense of the Christian faith: apologetics.
That doesn’t mean you have to be one of those debaters who like to argue and discuss and push back. Some people are wired that way and some people aren’t. But like Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But 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.”
Know what you believe—the hope that is in you. And know why you believe it so that you can explain it to someone else who asks why you have that hope, and why you believe what you believe.
Be prepared to address objections or concerns people might have. People have questions. You’ve probably asked some of them, even if you’re settled in your belief:
Fortunately, there are good answers to these questions. Christians have applied their minds to the study of Scripture for hundreds of years to come up with satisfying, God-honoring answers to these questions. So do the work to know what those answers are.
Here are two great resources to get you started on studying apologetics:
While Christianity is very much tied to our hearts, it requires us to use our wits, our reason, and the entirety of our minds to truly follow Christ.
Let me encourage you, don’t check your brain at the door.
Dive in, learn, and use your knowledge and reason together with your feelings and faith. And as you do, may you, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
