The Village Blog

To tithe or not to tithe? That is the question. And how we answer leads to other questions: Gross or net? What if in debt? Should we give 10% of everything, including Christmas and birthday gifts and tax refunds? If you cannot give with joy, should you just not give at all?

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In elementary school I learned that Columbus sailed the ocean blue against the advice of all contemporary sages. Would he fall off the ends of the earth? His men and my classroom waited with bated breath on the edge of mutiny as the ships approached the edges of the known world. I was taught that everyone in the early church and the Middle Ages unreservedly believed that the earth was flat, but ...

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Are stoplights and speed limits simply suggestions? Good advice to drive carefully? Helpful reminders to those less qualified in handling the complexities of modern motor carriages? Why come to a complete cessation of forward momentum when a California stop will suffice? Are you really expected to wait if there is quite literally no one else around? Does stop really mean stop? Isn’t that a ...

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When did it become acceptable to say you’ll do something and not follow through? Nearly every day we experience the effects of a world that has long since compromised on the call to commitment. And, unfortunately, the Church is not immune. Meetings are confirmed, but one party is left waiting. We RSVP to events, but later become enticed by the bigger, better deal. We wager and renege and ...

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Have you ever been angry at God? In the midst of life’s stresses and strains, do you find your heart’s frustration, confusion and disappointment directed toward the sovereign Lord? What are you to do with such feelings? Anger is a perfectly natural response to suffering and the complexities of a fallen world. An omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful) God seems to be an ...

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Every believer needs to be a member of a local church. This is a biblical reality for God’s glory, the edification of the community and the encouragement of your own soul. But what if there are no healthy churches near you? Here are a few encouragements:

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And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24–25 The church is more than a place; it is a people. You will never see the word “church” applied to a place or building within the New Testament. The church is a ...

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“We consider ourselves already married in God’s eyes.” I’ve heard that sentence a handful of times in my short tenure as a pastor. It typically comes from the mouths of an engaged couple, already living together and subsequently engaged in the physical benefits that such an arrangement entails.

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