Ken

This past weekend I had the opportunity to guest preach at the Littleton Church of Christ. The Littleton Church is a wonderful group of people who meet only about 10-15 away from Mountainview, the church I'm privileged to serve as senior pastor. Our two churches are both a part of what is known as the American Restoration Movement (Christian Church, Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ). For several years, the Littleton Church was led by Collin Packer, the son of one of my first friends in ministry -  Barry Packer. When I was a very young minister (21!) serving my first church in San Diego, Barry become one of my best ministry friends. I'm still very thankful for the lunches we shared at Fuddruckers in Grossmont Center. Over the last few years, I enjoyed meeting with Collin and hopefully provided him with the same encouragement his dad provided me. My wife…

Here’s an important thing to remember: after you come to faith in Jesus, your old self doesn’t automatically fade away. If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we all want to change for the better. I don’t know many parents that say, “I really want to strive to be the worst parent,” or couples who say to one another, “Let’s allow our marriage to crumble.” And rarely – if ever – will you hear anyone say, “My resolution this year is to gain a lot of weight and eat as unhealthy as possible!” A quick search on Google or Amazon reminds us that we spend billions of dollars a year trying to improve ourselves. There is something inside of each of us that longs to change for better. But the fact of the matter is – we can’t make ourselves better. Living as a follower of…

It’s always an unsettling moment when you pull up to a favorite restaurant only to see one of these signs: Under New Management. A change in managment may mean different servers, different menus, and a different décor. While it may ultimately be a change for the better, the idea of change is not always welcome. One of the reasons for that has to do with human nature. The favorite word of a person who seeks only happiness is “I.” These people measure everything by “what I want.” A good chunk of Romans 8 is about how God offers us new management. He wants to transition us from the destructive patterns of old desires to the new program of the power and peace that comes from doing the right things and living the right way. Here’s what the change looks like … 5 Those who live according to the flesh have…

At Harvard University, you can take a course in happiness. This popular class helps students discover, as the professor states, “How to get happy.” I'm not against being happy. I actually like to be happy. Sometimes, though, we take the search for earthly happiness too far. If we're not careful, we'll even begin to believe that our happiness is God’s highest goal for us. That’s when our thinking gets confused. If we seek happiness alone, we will run the risk of becoming selfish. That's why the challenge of Romans 8 is to seek holiness, not simply happiness. Happiness and holiness are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but it does matter which one is your primary focus -- your ulimate pursuit. There is no true happiness apart from holiness and no holiness apart from Christ.

Our new teaching series at Mountainview is based on Romans 8 and is called "More than Conquerors." Coming out of our UNSTUCK series, "More than Conquerors" will explore what the God-filled life is to look like. In this theologically rich chapter, the apostle Paul explores the transforming power of God to change a person's life. If you're interested in a few resources, these should give you a good overview of Romans. RESOURCES ON ROMANS A Commentary on Romans by FF Bruce Tim Keller Commentary on Romans 1-7 A Small Group Guide to Romans Featuring It's been said and John Ortberg