As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10)

It’s been a rough year for college football, as scandal after scandal has rocked many of the elite programs around the country. In 2011 alone, Ohio State’s football coach, Jim Tressel, resigned after he was found to have hidden violations from the NCAA, the University of Miami football team was found to have committed numerous violations so heinous that it could lead to the program being shut down, and this past week, Penn State has been under the microscope after it was discovered that one of its assistant coaches had been sexually molesting boys for years, often at the team practice facility, and that school officials, including the head coach Joe Paterno, had done very little to bring the abuse into the light. Now, the Miami scandals were not much of a surprise, given the tawdry history of the program, but the Ohio State and Penn State scandals were shocking precisely because the head coaches of both schools had been held up as models of integrity. Now, sadly, they find their reputations crumbling around them as it became clear that neither man was as he was portrayed to be.
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“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.” (1 Kings 19:3-5)

This past Sunday, I preached on 1 Kings 19, a passage which includes the above verses. After three years of incredible faithfulness and trust in the face of life-threatening danger, Elijah finally breaks down in chapter 19, and in his despair asks God to take away his life. From the passage, it seems as if Elijah plans to sleep until he is dead, but God tenderly ministers to him, sending an angel to make him food, reminding him that he is not alone, speaking to him in the “still, small voice,” and giving him a reason to continue living.

Why is it that this passage speaks to me so much more powerfully than the showdown with the prophets of Baal, or the time Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead, or the time he boldly confronted the king and declared that there would be no rain? Read more »

In December of 1997, I sat down with a small group of teenagers from NewLife at Mike and Melissa Smith’s house in Glastonbury. A 21 year-old senior at UConn, I had just recently been hired as the youth pastor at NewLife, and this sit-down was my first “meet-and-greet” with the teens of the church. I remember telling them about some of the people I regularly ate meals with in the UConn cafeteria, and the daydreams I had about challenging the smart atheists to consider the reality of Jesus Christ. In my daydream, I would clearly and cleverly outline the truth of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and skillfully answer every argument thrown my way. Soon, it became clear that the whole cafeteria was listening intently to our conversation. And so, in my daydream, I would stand up and tell all who were listening about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as the crowd responded in affirmation, I would leave the cafeteria, leading the hungry-for-God crowd up the hill to where our Christian fellowship met. And as person after person committed their life to Jesus, the prettiest girl in the Christian fellowship would come up to me and say admiringly, “you’re my hero, Eric Stillman.”

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Today’s guest blogger is Jim Quigley.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

 The lives of those who consider themselves followers of Jesus Christ are filled with both victory and defeat. With success and failure. With prosperity and hardships. With joy and suffering.   Paul describes what a servant of God may expect as a result of his obedience to Christ in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10. Some, however, are misguided and believe that the life of a Christian in this world is free of pain and full of comfort. But, Jesus never promised a life of comfort and easy-living for His disciples. Instead, He told them to take up their cross every day and follow Him (Luke 9:23).  Jesus also warns them that “in this world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33, ESV).  
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“We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

As a preacher, I have learned that one of the best ways to connect a message to a listener is to tell a personal story. As I prepare a sermon, my first priorities are to try to faithfully communicate the intent of the original author, as well as to discern what the text means for us in 21st century America. Then, after I have accomplished those goals, I try to make the message more interesting and memorable by adding personal stories, analogies, quotes, and so on.
But there is one thing I notice from time to time as I try to add personal stories. How many of my stories are from 10 years ago? How many of my God-moments happened in college, or in my days as a youth pastor? Do I have many recent examples of times when God showed Himself in memorable ways in my life, or am I depending on a faith from when I was younger? 

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“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1 John 1:5-10)

 I did not grow up Catholic, but I can only imagine the awkwardness that must surround the whole experience of confession. Revealing your hidden sins to a man you may or may not know very well, and then being instructed on what your penance is, may be a valuable spiritual exercise for some, but probably was not exactly what James had in mind when he wrote “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). When I read that verse, it seems to me that James was encouraging the Christians reading his letter to make confessing their sins to each other a regular part of their spiritual life, not to save their confession for the spiritual leader in their midst, because the simple acts of confession and prayer were powerfully effective.

I have been struck once again this past week at the power of confession, and particularly at the truth found in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Read more »

Today’s guest blogger is Brad Brinkley. Brad and his wife Taylor have been a part of NewLife since last November.

Lover and a Fighter

“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”  (Isaiah 40:11)

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!  The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.’”  (Revelation 19:11-16)

When it comes to understanding godly masculinity, two extremes dominate modern (especially Western) culture.  One extreme prevails more in the world, the other in the church.  They might be fittingly labeled thus:  The Bully and The Sweetheart.

The Bully is king of his castle.  He will have his way.  He will be obeyed, and if not, there will be consequences.  He loves to display his glory, strength and power.  He may even resort to violence.  The Sweetheart, on the other hand, is exactly that—sweet.  He rarely makes waves or initiates conflict.  He is often quiet, meek, and tender as a lamb.  His mission in life is singular:  to be nice.

Neither extreme honors God.  Neither is biblical.  And Jesus comes to destroy them both.
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I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

 In case you missed it, this past Monday, Joey Chestnut successfully defended his title at the Hot Dog Eating World Championships at the original Nathan’s Famous on Coney Island in New York. Chestnut successfully devoured 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes by dipping his hot dogs in juice to moisten them before shoving them into his mouth.

 I will now pause to allow your stomach to settle.

 In many ways, the Hot Dog Eating World Championships are a great picture of what has become the American way of life. I can still remember as a child how fascinated I was by all-you-can-eat buffets, shopping sprees, and anything that promised me that I could have all that my eyes (or stomach) desired. How cool it would be, I thought, to have ten minutes to go through Toys R Us, grabbing all of the toys I could fit into my cart! How awesome to go to a restaurant where I could fill my plate with every kind of pie, ice cream, pudding, and sweet treat I desired!

 “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.”

 I have a confession to make. Lately, I have been feeling like a glutton. Read more »

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

Well, the world did not end on May 21st, as Harold Camping had predicted. I am amazed not only that people still make end-of-the-world predictions, but that others actually believe the people who make those predictions, to the point of selling all they own. Truly, all that was needed in response to Camping’s prediction was a quick glance at Matthew 24:36, where Jesus says about his second coming, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” It’s pretty simple, according to Jesus – if you think you know when the world will end, you are wrong.

But this post is not about Harold Camping and the end of the world. It’s about discernment. Read more »

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Today’s post is a favorite story of mine, taken out of Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Power. Cymbala is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, and has written many wonderful books about the power of God to transform lives. This story is a testimony to the verse listed above, and is especially encouraging for all who give their life in service of the gospel.

Back in 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their two year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa – to what was then called the Belgian Congo. They met up with another young Scandinavian couple, the Ericksons, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of much tenderness and devotion and sacrifice, they felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station and take the gospel to a remote area.

This was a huge step of faith. At the village of N’dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts.
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