greg | bearss

Studying the book of Nehemiah has caused me to ask this question: What if the book of Nehemiah is really a parodox of the family of God?   The book of Nehemiah has been taught in many and various ways.  I have never heard the story of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem as a reflection of what God wants for families that are seeking to live for Jesus or those struggling because of the enemy's ravaging attacks on their family.  Yet that's exactly what I see when I read this rebuilding process.  Maybe you are reluctant and think that families are faring pretty well these days.  As a pastor of “the least of these” let me assure you that unfortunately, that is not the case for the average family in America.  Families in America are under attack and unfortunately, the enemy seems to be gaining ground on his attack on the family.  Look at just a few of revealing statistics regarding families in America: 50% of marriages in America will end in divorce. 8.8 years is the average le...

How Do You Love Your City? This is the question we have been asking our church LakePointe. We’ve been talking about how to love the city we live in as a community of believers. The discussion has taken us to Matthew 25 . We realize something that changed our mindset. The fact that “we are the least of these,” and as “the least of these” we are to be out reaching to the “least of these” that are still out there! To understand put yourself in Jesus story as the “I” and put Jesus in as the “YOU.” Also, look at the physical needs that were met in the narrative and see how it plays out with these as spiritual needs: 35 “For I(insert your name) was (spiritually) hungry, and you(JESUS) fed me(the bread of life). I was (spiritually) thirsty, and you (JESUS)gave me a drink(from waters where I would never thirst again). I was a stranger(estranged, lost spiritually), and you(Jesus) invited me into your home(a relationship with Him, His church). 36 I was naked,(not clothed in righteous...

When was the last time you saw someone who was in need? What did they look like? What did they need? Where were they? What was the circumstance? Take a few minutes to capture the detail of what happened and your reaction... Now read the story in Matthew 25:31-40 . It’s obvious that Jesus is teaching the people about the “end times”, what it will be like when the King, Jesus himself, returns. As he describes how the people of the world will be separated into two groups: the blessed and the cursed, or the sheep and the goats, Jesus is also teaching us about obedient love. The first group of people Jesus describes are the ones “blessed by my Father in heaven”, or the sheep. They are about to receive their inheritance (heaven) that the Father has been preparing since the creation of the world. (imagine how crazy awesome that will be?) Then something interesting happens: Jesus begins to speak about the things that the “righteous ones” were doing with their lives--what their lives ...