Gossip is poison. Plain and simple. Few things can destroy unity between people (in a home, workplace or church), like gossip. Satan loves it—God hates it. But the thing that makes the poison of gossip so harmful…is that we like how it tastes.

At The Mission Church we affirm both the Old and New Testament teaching that—according to God’s design—sexual activity is only permissible within the bond of marriage between one man and one woman. The Bible repeatedly explains that any sexual practice that deviates from this design is the result of people dishonoring both God AND their own bodies.

Christians are commanded by God to not sin (Matthew 5:48, 1 Corinthians 15:34). No Christian ever has—or ever will—be able to obey this command perfectly. It is only by the grace of God that the punishment due for our sins has been paid for in Christ's death on the cross. Yet over the last 2,000 years of world history there have been many times when civil authorities have demanded that Christians violate God's law…

This past Sunday, in the sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20, I spent much of our time trying to help us all see what the Bible says/warns about Satan. Here is a list of the scriptures I referenced during that sermon (plus a few that didn’t make it into the sermon):

Laura and I often get questions this time of year about the kind of family traditions we have established to help point our kids to the real meaning of Christmas. This week Laura posted a recipe on her foodie blog (JoyFoodSunshine.com) and she added the following section on what we do as a family. I hope it can be helpful for you!