Are Christians Totally Depraved?

Believe it or not, this is an important question. It’s not simply a theological question. It’s a theological question that has profound practical implications. Our answer will inevitably reveal our understanding of the gospel and reflect our understanding of sin and grace. First things first: what total depravity isn’t. Total depravity does not mean “utter [...]

Sex, Marriage, & Fairytales

We posted a video from Jeff Bethke a couple weeks ago, and we wanted to follow up with this one as he addresses many of the ideas behind Pastor Mark and Grace Driscoll’s book, Real Marriage. Here’s the inspiration behind this Spoken Word.&nb…

Owning vs. Renting Your Community

“It’s a rental.”
It was a perfect day for the beach, and my new bride and I had the top down in a fun but gutless Mustang. We had left the main track miles ago and were tearing down a dirt road riddled with potholes. My faith in the directions o…

How the Trinity Relates to Marriage

Three persons in one God may seem like a metaphysical head-scratcher, but far from being an esoteric theological concept, the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has numerous implications to daily life since we are each made in God’s imag…

Naturalism, Knowledge, and History

Naturalism, the philosophical worldview that everything arises from nature and nothing exists beyond it, meaning there’s no such thing as the spiritual realm.  However, this view ultimately leaves one with no justification for trusting one&…

7 Things That Worship Is

1. Repentance
Where there is no repentance, there may be an emotional experience, but it’s not worship!  Worship does not become worship until it changes the way we live!
2. Intellectual
We are called to worship the Lord with our minds by r…

This Entire Thing Has Nothing to Do with Pastor Tullian

ReLit Manager and Mars Hill Pastor Matt Johnson had the opportunity to talk with Tullian Tchividjian about his new book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything. We didn’t want you to miss anything in this great interview, so we’ve broken it down int…

The How and Why of Worship

Any healthy forest has trees of different sizes.
 Seedlings from decades past eventually grow tall and help the legacy of the forest live on by dispersing seeds of their own. If the distribution of new life stops, the forest has begun to die.
&nb…

Win a Free Copy of Logos Scholar’s Library

We’re giving away a free copy of Logos Bible Software Scholar’s Library to one lucky winner. Entering the contest is easy.

If you haven’t already, you can purchase a copy of The New York Times #1 Best Seller, Real Marriage: The …

What Is Grace?

Paul Zahl: What is grace? Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable. The cliché definition of grace is “unconditional love.” It is a true cliché, for [...]

What Jesus-Centered Friendship Looks Like

Friendship seems like such a natural part of human life that we probably don’t stop to think about what it is and where it came from. Yet understanding why God created friendship is important for understanding ourselves and God.
Friendship and t…

15 Things to Consider about Abortion

Given that today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, here are 15 things to consider about abortion:
1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother’s womb (except in the case of abortion). 2. Fetal sur…

Picking the Right People

It is a truism that the more people you lead, the more leaders you need.
As the size of your group, organization, church or company grows, so does the need for more character-filled, Christ-centered, and competent leaders.
It is also true that a leade…

Picking the Right People

It is a truism that the more people you lead, the more leaders you need.
As the size of your group, organization, church or company grows, so does the need for more character-filled, Christ-centered, and competent leaders.
It is also true that a leade…

Jesus Saves Sinners for God’s Glory

The Latin word sola means “alone” or “only.”
The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and that summarize the Reformers’ basic theological convictions on what they believed to be the essentials o…

Are You an Introvert or Extrovert?

This content is for those that have signed up for Leadership Coaching with Pastor Mark. Please sign in at http://theresurgence.com/.

Defining the Center

I have recently noticed a trend of churches giving up on the notion that community is an essential component of church life.
Many are deciding that community is an optional experience that is helpful but not elemental to being a healthy disciple of Je…

What Does It Mean To Please God?

Rick Thomas writes an insightful piece entitled “The Danger of Trying to Please God.” The counselor in this story sounds way too much like the way many of us preachers preach: Sandra has struggled all her life with people pleasing. She said she could not remember a time when she was free from thinking about [...]

The Difference between Religion and the Gospel

Last week, we posted a video about religion and Jesus and wanted to follow up with some more content. Tim Keller’s Gospel in Life Study Guide is incredibly helpful and expounds upon the difference of religion and the gospel. We like it so much, we mad…

Train Your Church

If you don’t train your church what boundaries are appropriate, you likely won’t have many.
If you are a lead pastor, you can set the tone publicly. I’d suggest a few of the following:

Publicly communicate when your day off is….