Guitars and Theology

The truth of Jesus as Creator has a lot of practical importance! What practical importance, you ask? Well, for starters, that sense of awe and wonder and joy you feel at the creation? Yeah, that’s a totally correct intuition. And that sense you have that beauty, goodness, and truth matter? Same. And that sense that […]

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. The life of Jesus in eternity past is deeply significant in understanding the nature of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is deeply significant for understanding the nature of […]

http://www.bedisciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/A-Bigger-Jesus.mp3 Sometimes we can lose sight of Reality and get so focused on threats and problems that we live in fear or self-directed projects (spiritual or otherwise) designed to stave off fear. Colossians 1:15ff are actually lyrics to a very early Christian worship song, entirely about Jesus. Jesus existing before everything. Jesus being the agent […]

There is a story about God in the world that is so common that many of us don’t realize just how profoundly untrue it is. It asks a lot of questions like, “Where is God? Is he there? Where was he when that happened? Is he involved? Does he care?” In relationship to God, it […]

Sometimes people have thought about redemption as God paying off the devil, like a good man who, in mercy, pays off the evil gang of thugs who have taken over the neighborhood. “Here you take my son, and you give me back these folk. Do we have a deal?” But is that what the cross […]

Joy and happiness are often described by believers are being entirely different realities, but sometimes I think we are simply trying to avoid admitting that we lack true joy. True joy will be a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not a rule to keep, but a byproduct of a life lived abiding in Christ. The […]

It’s been too long since I got to preach! Back at it again, this time we spent some time in Col 1:11, and talked about the difference between endurance, which is our capacity or stamina to keep going, and patience, which is the inner attitude that is willing to pay the pain price and doesn’t […]

3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever […]

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. (Colossians 1:1-2)

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Matthew 7:11 ” So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. “

11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants […]

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. (1 Tim 1:5)

Check your locus of control: http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LC.html

2 Tim 1:9 – God saved us and called us to a holy life… What is holiness? What is a holy life? Why would anyone want a holy life? How would a person get a holy life? 1. What is holiness? Ontological – only God is holy Consecration – set apart for sacred use Moral […]

In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3). http://www.bedisciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/A-Bigger-Jesus.mp3

http://www.bedisciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Individuation-and-Connection.mp3 God is always calling us in two directions: away from others to become the distinct person we’re created to be, and toward others to serve them in love. We’re always being separated from and sent to. Individuated, and connected. This is a communion mystery of being broken and given…The goal of this breaking is […]

http://www.bedisciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SOTA-9-Stay-Curious.mp3 Curiosity is better than duty. Sometimes I emphasize the importance of vocation, the importance of calling. Calling is deeply significant. And there are times when the thing we’re called to do becomes difficult and requires persistence. But there are levels of faithfulness. Paul said of his preaching assignment, If I preach voluntarily, I have […]

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mp3 Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt. In Parks and Rec, Chris Traeger is enthusiastic and positive and loves every idea and every person. So the state of Indiana hired him because he’s an encouraging even when he disagrees. But they partnered him with Ben Wyatt, who is a numbers cruncher and shoots down any idea […]

mp3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study […]

mp3 I have a friend who gets up every morning at 4:30am and writes. He’s a hip hop artist and he did it originally as an experiment to see what would happen if he wrote one song per day for a year. I asked him what he’s learned, and he said, “I’ve learned that writer’s […]

mp3 video The reason I’m talking about this, the reason I care about this topic, is because I see people go into hiding, taking their God-given contribution, and covering it up because it isn’t good enough. Like Gideon hiding in a winepress, or Gideon making a statue to himself, both are from insecurity…When you know […]

mp3 Who is the work for? Of course the work is ultimately for others. But  it’s maker must first believe in it, and it must be an expression of the maker’s journey, the maker’s heart, the maker’s own best sense of what the work wants to be. In order for it to be worth giving away to […]

Powerpoint Last time I said that we’re creative because we’re made in the image of the Creator. I said that we’re each here to bring order out of chaos. This time I want to add two more layers. The first is this: As we fulfill our calling to bring order to the disorder of the […]

A Crisis of Purpose Sometimes people think faith is about answering the question, “Is there life after death?” I came to faith because I was wrestling with a different question, the one that drives the biblical book of Ecclesiastes: “Is there life before death?” There has got to be more to life than the futility […]

I Corinthians 1:18-31 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise […]

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http://www.bedisciples.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Grief-Universal-Wounding-Optional.mp3 Good grief is distinct from the negative patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior we exhibit when old wounds are in play. Absent grief – is when we suppress our grief so that we don’t feel it. Delayed grief – is when we’ve got too much happening to cope so we allow ourselves to grieve later. […]

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could […]

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