Category: Ministry Resources

God's chief desire is that we would avoid hell. The Scriptures tell us that He sends Jesus into the world to save us from the consequences of our rebellion (hell) rather than to send us to hell (John 3:16-21).

Christianity is not first and foremost about morality; it is about relationship. God is a person, not a thing, and desires that we relate to Him as a person. If He is the creator, the One in whom all things begin and in whom all things find their completion, then it is with Him that...Continue reading

The fact that people fail to live up to an ideal does not mean there is necessarily anything wrong with the ideal. It does mean that there is something wrong with us, though. Jesus was pretty straight with us about our shortcomings. God is perfect and demands perfection, but none of us live perfect lives; all of us are screwed up.

There are good and bad directions.

We know that we cannot get from Bellingham to Seattle by car by driving north on I-5; the Mount Baker highway will not take you to Mount Hood; and you can't get to my house on James Street. (You'll have to trust me on the last one.)

There is little question that the story we have about Jesus is historical—the cities, politicians, and religious leaders He interacted with have all been confirmed historically. We have little reason to believe that the words of Jesus in Scripture are inaccurate, since they were passed on to us by the people who hung out with Him.

Sincerity is important. Peer pressure and a desire for acceptance are poor reasons to follow Jesus. God doesn’t ask us to fake it; He desires a free and sincere obedience. But sincerity should not be confused with truth. I can sincerely believe that the earth is flat, but I will still be sincerely wrong. Since...Continue reading

I can't give a definite answer to that question. I have to trust God's character and believe that He will do what is right. Does Jesus appear to people who have never heard about Him in the last moments of their life, or just after they die, and give them a chance to respond? I don't know, but that wouldn't be inconsistent with His character. He desires that no one would be lost.

I was standing in downtown Seattle when a college student came racing up to a man sitting on a mailbox. "Am I first?" he asked. "I just ran 20 blocks to find you." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. The college student whooped with joy. He had heard a radio announcement that this man would be sitting on this mailbox holding tickets to a sold-out rock concert for the first person that found him.

If by "organized religion" you mean an impersonal, monolithic bureaucracy, then I share your desire to escape such an institution; but the church is something very different. A church is a group of people who have come together to worship God together, and to encourage and aid each other as they grow closer to Him. Jesus' intention in establishing the church was to create a community that would be united in love and service.