All Resources
Silence and Solitude
I don’t think anyone in the western world would argue with the following statement: “We live in a time of tremendous and immediate access to knowledge, comfort, and entertainment.” For those of us that are followers of Jesus, the following statement is also true: “We...
Why We Fuss: And the Shocking, Unfair Power of God’s Provision
My favorite time of day is early morning. That might put me in the minority, but I look forward to that first sip of warm coffee as I sit in my little corner of the couch watching the light stream in through the windows. Now, on this side of having kids, my mornings...
What Do We Do With Toxic Relationships?
In this episode, the team discusses relationships and why they are worth having. While truly toxic relationships do exist, we now live in a culture quick to label...
The Importance of Friendships: Why Can’t We Be Friends?
Logically and biblically, we might know the call of friendship and community that the Bible has for us. We know all the metaphors for the Church. We have seen the realities that the Church IS a body. It has different functions and designs, but all working together as...
Creating & Maintaining Community in Small Groups
Creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for a small group is vital to the success of the group in general. The reasoning is pretty simple - people return to environments where they feel welcome and accepted. People also feel freer to be themselves in a...
Common Misconceptions About Friendship & How Jesus Shows Us a Better Way
This is an article addressing what I've learned from 25 years of friendship...or, put differently, it breaks down common misconceptions concerning the nature of deep friendships. Misconception #1: It is someone else's responsibility to come and be my friend. We might...
Cutting Into the Onion of Moralism
This article originally appeared on redtreegrace.com. Red Tree is a multi-church ministry effort started by Hope Community Church in order to connect the clarity of God's grace to our otherwise confusing lives and attempts at reading the Bible. When I was growing up,...
Better Wine
You may know the first miracle Jesus performs publicly is at a wedding when he turns water into wine. What’s less talked about is why it matters today. The passage is John 2:1-12, and to really understand what it has to say, it’s helpful to first take an inventory on...
“Rules of the Sandbox” for Small Group
Remember when you used to play in sandboxes as a kid? There were some unwritten rules that everyone was expected to abide by: No Throwing Sand, No Eating the Sand, No Hitting, Play Kindly with Others, etc. The same goes for Small Groups. We thought it would be...
Is it Okay to Sleep Together if We Really Love Each Other?
Is it okay to sleep together if we really love each other? To answer, there are several considerations. Do you have a relationship with Christ? If not, then I would encourage you to first respond to Christ. His life, death, and resurrection demand a response, either...
Breaking Shame Narratives
Shame. It’s a heavy word. One, when spoken out loud you can feel that “shame-like” feeling wash over you. It’s a feeling many have experienced and wish they hadn’t. Shame is a feeling that we, as God’s image bearers, weren’t meant to experience. Yet, because of the...
Cancelling Good News
Cancel culture, a phrase now popular enough to make its way into the dictionary, is defined as the practice of withdrawing support (or cancelling) public figures after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. In terms of ways to...