Church Archives

Why Doesn’t God Always Heal the Sick? by Dr. Sam Storms

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this [thorn], that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” 2 Corinthians 12:8–9
God loved the Apostle …

S2:E1 Entering A New Year

The New Year is upon us and I dislike “resolutions”. There is another way to get your feet under you as we enter this new year. Tune in and invite a friend to the podcast

You can’t Lead Where you Haven’t been by Nick Lathe

Nick Lathe is the worship director for Mars Hill Sammamish. He and his band, The Dispatch, are releasing a new EP on Tuesday, August 20. (You can listen to the single here). We recently asked Nick what he wish he had known about leading wor…

8 misconceptions about the Bible by Mark Driscoll

“How can you trust the Bible when it’s been translated so many times?” “Isn’t the Bible full of mistakes and contradictions?” Pastor Mark Driscoll debunks 8 common misconceptions about the Bible in this fourth…

Living Community Part Four

So HOW do we go about loving one another? The idea of ‘what is love’ is tainted by the influences of our culture. Some may say that sex is love or that love is found in the giving of extravagant gifts. John makes it real clear in his letter: “We know what love is because […]

Still Here…Living Outside the Box

The Apostle Paul was inside-the-box (ITB) until his encounter with Christ on the Damascus road. He fully renounced his ITB credentials in his letter to the church at Philippi. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort […]

Conformity 3

Conformity in the Church Actually we are to conform to the holy life described in the Scripture. Sadly this has been perverted in some church environments resulting in unbearable legalism. Wny? In Scripture, the church is called a “body”, comprised of different and distinct parts each serving a specific function ultimately serving for the benefit […]

Conformity 2

So what is the difference between Conformity and Uniformity? We have established that Conformity is taking action in accordance to prevailing social standards, attitudes and practices. Whereas Uniformity is the state or quality of overall sameness, homogeneity. These two words are not the same; specifically because in Uniformity we see the elimination of Personality. In […]

Outside the Box-5

Freedom to Enjoy Having fun is almost a bad word in some circles. Oh sure, it’s fine to take your annual vacation or play that game of golf on the weekends (as long as it doesn’t interfere with a church function or something equally important). And we hear lots of advice about taking time to […]

Outside the Box-2

Freedom to Own your Own Faith People long ago lived by a system of rules and regulations that told them how to live their lives, and they used priests as intermediaries between themselves and God. Simply read through the Old Testament and be thankful that we no longer operate under this burdensome system. We are […]

Darkest Hour

At one time or another, we have all likely found ourselves asking, as David did, “How long, O Lord?” (Ps. 13:1). We rightly ask God to end the suffering we experience, but in our struggles do we ask what they may be preparing us for?…

Playing Outside the Box

Playing Outside the Box I see the world in a slightly different manner, especially concerning matters of the church. I view the church and how it engages the culture (men, in particular) in a very different manner than most occupying the pews within it. One could say that I am an ardent member of the […]

Community 2

Is the church of today intended to reflect culture or should culture reflect the church? Or possibly both? Maybe neither? The entertainment industry justifies their corrupt products (movies, music, etc) by claiming to only be a reflection of the society around them. Thus they are somehow relating to their audience. (Talk about a cop out.)

Community 1

Is it just me or has the American church, in general, lost its sense of “community”? By “community” I refer to the activities seen in the early church, in particular Acts 2:42-47. There we see people coming together daily in the temple, sharing a meal together, being in each other’s homes, sharing of their assets, […]