by Brad Blocksom | Aug 31, 2020 | Devotionals, Discipleship, Preaching
Mark (p. 1776) They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Books*) “and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39, ESV) Who is Jesus? The disciples don’t know at this point. They are clueless...
by Brad Blocksom | Jul 17, 2019 | Devotionals, Discipleship, Practical Theology
Mark (p. 1782) Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” (Books)The Books of the Bible, NIV Jesus heals the blind (p. 1782), casts out demons (p. 1781), miraculously multiplies bread to feed thousands, stills storms, and yet the disciples still don’t...
by Brad Blocksom | Mar 30, 2019 | Devotionals, Discipleship, Practical Theology, Prayer
Mark (p. 1791) do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ ” (Books) Jesus prophesies the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. The disciples ask ‘when will this happen and what will be the sign?’ Jesus...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 29, 2017 | Disciple Making, Discipleship, Ethics, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Groups
Our church recently completed a sermon series on the book of Ephesians, and one of the repeated bylines for this series was the phrase: “Bringing our behaviour in line with our beliefs”. And in a nutshell, that is precisely what Roger Helland’s newest book, The Devout...
by Robby McAlpine | Oct 8, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Ethics, Forgiveness, Practical Theology
“Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble...
by Luke Geraty | Aug 31, 2017 | Discipleship, Gender Issues, Homosexuality, Marriage, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Sex
The hot button discussion in American Evangelicalism this week is the recently released “Nashville Statement”. This is an attempt by some Reformed Evangelicals to clarify their views on sexuality; the statement has raised a fair amount of agreement and a...
by Robby McAlpine | Apr 25, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Leadership, Practical Theology
“Do you know why retired pastors always sit at the back of the church?” he asked, with a knowing wink. I smile back, shaking my head. “I have absolutely no idea. Why?” His grin broadened even more, and he leaned back in his chair with a hearty laugh. “Because we can!”...
by Robby McAlpine | Apr 7, 2017 | Discipleship, Ethics, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology
Before reading any further, take a moment to soak in the statement captured in the image above. In some ways, that picture+insight could simply exist as a blog post on its own, without any need for elaboration. But writers just can’t resist. My trajectory as an author...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 20, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Practical Theology
I’ve long been intrigued by the elusive subject of Christian discipleship. As a “child of the church,” having spent the entirety of my life in and around churchianity, I’m well versed in numerous definitions of what it means to be a disciple...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 14, 2017 | Church Life, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Preaching
Over the years I’ve been approached by a few people who wanted to either use the gifts they believed they had or be trained and equipped to minister through speaking (e.g., preaching, teaching, training, etc.). In simple terms, they wanted opportunities to speak...
by Luke Geraty | Jan 4, 2017 | Church Life, Discipleship, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology
Reading through the Gospels and taking Jesus’ words seriously, not to mention reading through both the Old and New Testaments, leads me to the conclusion that it’s perfectly “normal” for followers of Jesus to face persecution and to suffer. I...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 31, 2016 | Church Life, Conflict Resolution, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Ethics, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Revival, Small Groups
“I’ve decided to stay out of those discussions, until I’m sure we can have a non-hysterical conversation.” A non-hysterical conversation … When a friend casually uttered that phrase, I was immediately struck by its simple and profound wisdom. It’s increasingly...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 22, 2016 | Discipleship, Evangelism, Practical Theology, Preaching, Revival, Social Justice
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord…” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with...
by Robby McAlpine | Dec 7, 2016 | Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Practical Theology
Every now and then, I’ll hear (or read) someone mocking the idea of Jesus as a “personal” Savior. “What — you think you own Jesus, or something, like He’s your personal Savior? When did you become such a narcissist?” Sometimes, as I’m well-aware, they know what the...
by Robby McAlpine | Nov 24, 2016 | Conflict Resolution, Cultural Engagement, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Practical Theology, Revival
If it hasn’t been obvious before, it’s obvious now — as in: ‘how could you possibly miss it?’ — that evangelicals need to do some serious soul-searching, humble themselves, and REPENT. And no, actually, this isn’t just a cheap...
by Brad Blocksom | Sep 27, 2016 | Church Life, Church Planting, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, Family, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Money, Practical Theology, Prayer, Preaching, Small Groups
I came across these podcasts and, quite frankly, they were pretty eye opening for me (they’re kind of all related). So I wanted to share them here and see if we could get some good discussion going in the comments below. And, here they are: This one talks about...
by Brad Blocksom | Sep 11, 2016 | Church Life, Devotionals, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Groups
2 John 12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (ESV) John is such a person of the heart. He prefers to be there face to face, so that he can...
by Michael Sterns | Sep 5, 2016 | Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, Practical Theology
“Let [the one] who cannot be alone beware of community… Let [the one] who is not in community beware of being alone… Each by itself has profound perils and pitfalls. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and...
by Michael Sterns | Jul 9, 2016 | Discipleship, Practical Theology
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” ― Abraham Kuyper God is sovereign. That’s something we’re all taught in Sunday School. Or maybe we’ve heard it...
by Brad Blocksom | May 23, 2016 | Devotionals, Discipleship, Healing, Leadership, Messy Church, Practical Theology
Hebrews 5:2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. (ESV) As humans we are filled with weakness, tempted, sinful. Jesus experienced this same weakness and temptation – “yet without sin” (4:15). By...
