Latest Posts
How to Love Your Neighbor in a Crisis… When You Don’t Really Know Them
Dear Amy, We had a tragedy on our street last week. The 23-year-old daughter of a neighbor committed suicide. In the seven years we've lived here we've only met them once or twice. My heart is so broken for them, but we are virtually strangers. I find myself stopping throughout my day to pray for the family. Do you have any suggestions for how I can tangibly love my neighbor during this difficult time? Sincerely, H Dear H, Oh, wow, that's so rough. I'm sorry. We had a suicide in our...
You Are Not Responsible… kinda.
God bonked me on the head with this passage from Ezekiel 3 today - "Look, I’m not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. Don’t be afraid of them, even though they’re a bunch of rebels. Get all these words that I’m giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, ‘This is the Message of God, the Master.’ Speak your piece, whether they listen or not." I...
Week 11: Share
You can’t proclaim the name of Jesus from your front porch then be surprised when the devil answers your call. The calendar gets crowded, the family starts fighting, someone gets sick, bills mount and work boils over. When a person is on the verge of a breakthrough in her spiritual walk or corporate ministry, God often takes her aside for a time of testing. Learn how to overcome spiritual persecution in your neighborhood... and learn how to share your faith with your neighbors in a way that is...
Week 10: Encourage
Sometimes doomsday arrives in the form of a knock on your door late at night, or papers served as you go to work. Learn a strategy that's helped prepare for TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World as We Know It) for the past 2,000 years and will work in your neighborhood today - plus tools to offer lasting encouragement to your neighbor. Discuss the Next Best Steps from the end of Chapter 10 on page 43 of your Small Group Guide, and watch how Amy is encouraged.
The Most Beautiful “No”
It was 2014. I had run a Bible Study in my neighborhood for a couple years, so you'd think I would be a pro at this. But, in the weeks before each new Bible Study session started, I struggled to invite people to the first week. With the nervous sweat of a teenaged boy asking a girl to prom, I'd approach my friends with an invitation. Somehow, God brought the women, although I feel the Holy Spirit had to do most of the work in view of my lame efforts! In the year 2014, I wanted to be bold. I...
