Leading up to what we celebrate as Easter was Jesus’ hardest week! Not prayed for by his sleepy friends, betrayed, arrested, denied, beaten, harassed, crucified…so we could be saved. His humility is a perfect, sinless example to us, and He did this for us, His enemies! Every year as we approach Good Friday when Jesus … Read more
Serious about his faith, Jonathan Edwards sat down and began writing his life’s resolutions in his teen years. He added to the list in the ensuing years and was reported to review these resolutions weekly. As many of us prepare to make some resolutions for the new year, his serve as an example of resolutions … Read more
God gives us a new heart – Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. God gives us a new Spirit – Ezekiel 11:19 I will give … Read more
Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will. – Jonathan Edwards Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men … Read more
Romans 4:17 God…brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 7:6 … Read more
Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Isaiah 42:9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” … Read more
What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever given? What is your favorite Christmas gift you have ever received? At Christmas, we give and receive gifts as a tribute to Jesus Christ who gives us Himself as the greatest gift the world has ever known. The greatest gifts we receive are not things, but … Read more
When I was in high school, I really wanted to meet my now wife, Grace. The problem was we did not have any mutual friends who could introduce us. Then, one of her lifelong friends got seated in front of me in one of our classes. Before long, her long-term friend and I got to … Read more
We live in a world where it seems everyone wants to go up and get more. We want to go up our class rankings in school to get more awards, we want to go up the organizational chart at work to make more money, we want to go up in income so we can get … Read more
This video is part of a special edition of Pastor Mark & Grace’s XO Real marriage podcast. With the holidays comes so many plans and things to do and, while fun, it can become stressful. This video helps give practical ideas of how to give others grace and forgive quickly and easily, especially at the … Read more
Every year, as Christmas approaches, an avalanche of marketing rolls out to notify us of the looming holiday. The purpose of the commercials on television, flyers in the mail, notifications on social media, and holiday songs in the stores is to get us ready for the big day. In the days leading up to the … Read more
When it comes to relationships, we tend to feel closer to people who have similar experiences to ours. Conversely, we tend to find it difficult to feel close to people who have no idea what our life has been like. The God of the Bible is relational as the Father, Son, and Spirit have lived … Read more