If we've learned anything over the last fourteen months, it’s this: Not much is really stable in our world. Our health can improve or decline, with or without the coronavirus. Our savings and investments can go up or down, or go away. Even the most secure, bolted-down belief will feel a tremor every now and then. I'm often asked, “Ken, what has been your biggest test throughout these fourteen months?" It's hard to single out a specific, unique event or moment. What often appears to be a single, solitary moment rarely happens in isolation. Even in those cases that appear to be standalone events, you will often find there are things building up to it and the aftermath that follows. So, I believe the biggest test I've faced -- and I'm not alone -- is not one single test but the stacking of multiple tests over a compressed period of…
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It happened to me. From the moment I came home from the hospital as a newborn baby until I left for college, I slept in the same bedroom. It was my room. Baseball cards, a few books, and other "valuables" were spread across my dresser. A Nerf hoop was clipped to the back of my door. The same two posters hung on my closet all throughout high school - John McEnroe and Peter Frampton. Then I left for college in the fall of 1987, and when I returned for Christmas break, it was different. Technically, it was still my bedroom because dad had left my bed in there. The posters were still there. But he had moved in a desk with an office chair, a filing cabinet and a phone, and a television. He had converted my bedroom into a home office. I had mixed feelings about it. While I…
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Life isn’t a game. Life is a gift. Instead of viewing life as a game to win, I’ve come to see life as a gift to enjoy. But how do we enjoy life? Is it about making yourself feel better? If so … then what do we do when life stinks? If life is a gift, then who is the giver? Is it purely a matter of biological activity? As a person of faith, I believe God is the source of life. And I believe Jesus was God in the flesh. You might not believe either of those 2 things. That’s OK. I'm not asking you to believe the creation story or that Jesus is Son of God. I am asking you to take his message seriously. What is that message? God loves you and through Jesus offers you real life.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Looking for…
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Like many other things, I did not choose to be a Cubs fan. It chose me. Had I been born in Los Angeles or New York City, there's a good chance I would have been a life-long Dodgers or Yankees fan. But, by the mercy of God, I arrived at St. Francis Hospital on a November's day in Peoria, IL, and didn't leave again until I went away to college. I had other childhood friends, even a few of my own brothers -- born at the same hospital -- who became (of all things) Cardinal fans! To be fair, Central Illinois is sort of the baseball version of the Mason-Dixon line in Illinois. Some become Cubs fans, others grope in the darkness. As I look back over the factors that shaped my life, I have to admit I had zero control over many of them: I was born in 1969…
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The heart of the gospel is that Christ died for us. The message of Christianity is not about what we do for God but what he has done for us. What makes this message even more remarkable is that “Christ died for the ungodly” and “while we were still sinners.” In other words, he didn’t reward us for our good behavior. It’s important to note that it is God who took the initiative: “God demonstrates his own love for us.” We respond in faith to what God has already done.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here. Professor at Warner University church planter with Stadia former former president, Church Planters of the Rockies masters…
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