Grounded in Grace
Why is Paul foaming at the mouth at the Galatians? Because they feel like his own children, children for whom (he is) again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in (them) (4:19). Paul labored mightily to give birth to committed Christ-followers in Galatia, and thought he had succeeded. Now, he’s watching his Galatian children desert the gospel and the God behind the gospel, trading away their freedom in Christ for slavery to the Old Testament Law. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Truth
I will always put my money on the wisdom of Jesus, which may look like foolishness to this world, but is far wiser and truer than anything we ever have or ever will produce on our own. And I know the Spirit will proclaim that wisdom to all who have ears to hear. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Ablaze
Recognize that the longing to be set ablaze is proof that the Spirit of God is already burning in your soul. Experienced Christ-followers who know God intimately will speak of spirituality as the fire or the desire that burns within us for something more. That longing for more of God, more of God’s Spirit is proof that the sparks of God are already burning inside us. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Saved
Jesus is ready to save you, and not just on the surface. He’s ready to unchain you from your fears and your prejudices, from your greed, and your addictions, and your despair. All you’ve got to do is invite him to thoroughly transform your soul as only he can do. Imagine what your life would look like if you believed in Jesus like Paul and Silas. Why…you would be saved! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Open
How open are you to new or different ideas? Of course it’s fine, even admirable to hold strong convictions. We all know if you stand for nothing you’ll fall for anything. But are you open to the possibility that any of your most cherished, preconceived notions could be mistaken? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Healer of My Soul
Yet “getting right with God” does not mean our soul work is done. It just means it has begun. The fact is you can be a believer and still be prejudiced in your treatment of others, hardened because of abuse you’ve suffered, and broken because people who should have loved you abandoned you instead. You can be baptized and still live with chronic fear and discouragement and doubt. The work of healing and transforming our souls is a massive project that requires a lifetime, maybe even an eternity. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Jailhouse Religion
Bonhoeffer and King, Peter and Paul…these men did their best work in jail out of commitment to the One who also was arrested, and convicted, and beaten, and crucified. Yes, we’ve learned through hard experience that the work of the kingdom often involves suffering, even death. But thanks to the resurrection, we know that no power on this earth can keep Jesus and his followers locked up in jail, or down in a tomb. Read More ...
David Hughes |
A Risen World
Once upon a time the world was a song. Then it all went wrong. Truth be told it didn’t just go wrong last year. Or ten years ago. Or in 19th century France when Victor Hugo penned the novel, Les Miserable. According to the Apostle Paul, it all went wrong eons ago at the beginning of time, when a man named Adam triggered something eventually called “the Fall.” Even so, God would not let his dream of people living graciously under his reign—his dream of the Kingdom of God--completely die. Every now and then one of God’s prophets would remind God’s people of his ongoing vision for his people. Isaiah was one of these prophets, and when Israel lay in ruins, God used Isaiah to describe the day when God would reverse the curse of the Fall and restore the world to its original splendor. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Easter Hope
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” That’s the message of Easter, although from an unlikely source. God is always using endings to create something new. As people of faith, [the Israelites] never came to the end of the road. Always and at all times, there was more, even when it seemed improbable or impossible.I believe this is the message of Easter, too, and I cannot think of one we need more. Easter is about starting over when you thought all hope was gone. We, too, believe in a God who makes all things new. Read More ...
Bob Browning |
Letting Go of the Past
Here’s the reason you want to let go of the good, the bad, and the ugly from your past. Imagine your soul as a tank with a certain capacity for the Spirit of God. Imagine that tank being so full of past successes and failures and traumas that little room remains for the Spirit of the resurrected Christ. Do you see the problem? There is so much of God you will never know, so much of Christ’s power you will never experience until you stop clinging to the past. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Confessions
Here is what the likes of David, Paul, and Augustine understood that we so often miss—we are most vulnerable and miserable when we deny and cover our sin, and most happy and healthy when we confess our sin – honestly and specifically – before God, and when necessary, before others. We hear this same truth echoed in the New Testament. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It turns out confession is not an avenue to humiliation but a pathway to healing, a gift from God who wants us to be healthy and happy in our souls. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Hungry and Barren
How do we move from hungry and barren to satisfied and fruitful? The New Testament couldn’t be clearer. “I am the bread of life,” Jesus says in John 6:35. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Later in John 15:5, that same Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” The answer to hunger and thirst and barrenness is one and the same—a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Read More ...
David Hughes |
True Grit
How do we explain true grit when we see it? Commitment to the cause and a refusal to fail are surely part of the equation. Jesus was committed to his cause - the stakes for humanity could not be higher. But there was more. Jesus was possessed by God. He was so intimate with God and trusting of God that he refused to allow fear or discouragement to have the final word. Was Jesus ever afraid or discouraged? Of course. But his way of abiding in God enabled him to keep on keeping on and not be weary in well-doing. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Test
[T]he deeper you go with God, the more (not less) you will be tested. But the good news is, the deeper you go with God, the more capacity you have to defeat the devil at his own game and stay on mission for God. I don’t know when your next time of testing will come. What I know is it will be an opportunity to either fall flat on your face… or go further with God than you’ve ever gone before. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Fountain of Life
There ought to be an artesian well of joy and celebration bubbling up inside of every Christ-follower, an aroma of extravagance and abundance around every Christian church. And the fact is, the lives of many Christians and Christian churches appear to be more like stale grape juice than top-of-the-line wine. Jesus is the fountain of life that can give you life, life to the brim. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Baptized in Love
We need to open our eyes and see that we are surrounded by a sea of Perfect Love. We Baptists have spent lots of time and energy haggling over the meaning of water baptism. We treasure water baptism, and well we should. But along the way we may have missed the even larger point that from the moment we were conceived we were baptized in God’s love. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Undershepherds
Jesus could have used another animal analogy as he called Peter to lead. He could have said, “Rule the roost,” but he didn’t. “Tend the sheep,” he says. Tend them willingly and lovingly, not out of obligation or a sense of haughtiness. Tend their wounds, listen to their stories, hold their hands and hug them in times of need. Pray for them. Pray for your church. Lead by example before you ask anyone else to do anything. Put aside your pride, and lead out of humility. Read More ...
David Hughes |
By Another Road
The magi moved by faith and not by sight, confident that they were being guided by a mysterious Wisdom they could trust but not explain. People on journey with Jesus may not be guided by a star in the sky. But they are attentive to what God says through the scripture, and through faith communities, and through the witness of the Holy Spirit. And they are willing to move into unknown territory by faith rather than sight. Read More ...
David Hughes |
If I don’t have love
Most of us have tried to love others on our own strength and learned the hard way it doesn’t work. What does work is meditating on God’s love for us and deepening our relationship with God to the point that God’s love simply flows through us as we interact with other people. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Precious Gifts
We don’t conjure up our own peace. It is a by-product of a vital relationship with this babe from Bethlehem who is uniquely qualified to give us security when life is falling apart at the seams. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Tender Mercies
The message of God’s word long before we get to Jesus’ death is that our lives really are all about grace, all about mercy. That we exist at all is a gift of grace. That we have air to breathe, and lungs to breathe with is a work of God’s mercy. Every moment of every day is grounded God’s love and grace. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Keep Calm and Carry On
In the midst of the darkness, Advent declares that God has come. Christ is born. The Holy Spirit is moving. So never, never give in. Read More ...
David Hughes |
How Inappropriate!
The reason pastors today hesitate to preach about worship is they know it is the hottest of all the hot potatoes in church. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Power…in Weakness?
Could it be that power is made perfect in weakness? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Sleeping Like a Baby
Mark doesn’t tell us how long it took Jesus to fall asleep, but we get the impression it happened in a hurry. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Inner Strength
The amazing thing about God, says Paul, is that he entrusts the treasure of his gospel to the clay, cracked pots of our lives. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Too Deep For Words
Most of us grew up believing prayer was all about our talking and God listening. But what if the most powerful, profound praying takes place silently at another level, a level too deep for words? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Up
Thanks be to God for that day of ascension when the heavens opened and Jesus took his place at the right hand of God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Joy To The World
The problem with human beings, says Jesus, is not that we are too joyful and God wants us to be more serious. The problem is that we are joy-deprived, and God wants us to dive deeper into his joy. Read More ...
David Hughes |
A Soul Restored
We live in a time when the existence of our souls is anything but obvious. To speak of the human soul almost seems archaic. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Very Good and Pleasant
Every time we gather around the table of Jesus, we not only show forth the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ until he comes again. We declare that we typically self-absorbed people obsessed with our own preferences are willing to lay aside what divides us for the good of this church, and for, the good of God’s kingdom. Read More ...
David Hughes |
One Weird Ending
Only God knows how many days you have left in your life. But only you can write the final chapter of your life story. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Don’t Cry Past Saturday
How comfortable are you with passion? I don’t just mean sexual passion. I’m talking about strong emotion of any kind. For example, when somebody begins to cry in your presence, how do you react? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Committing Our Hearts To God
Spiritual transformation doesn’t happen apart from an intentional, whole-hearted commitment to God, and to the process of spiritual formation. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Why God Made Us
Do you really believe that God knit you (literally “crocheted” you) to be as you are today, with a particular plan for your life that matches you and only you, recorded in the Book of Life before you were even born? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Marketplace or Temple?
Imagine the impact on your life and on our church if our individual and collective desire was the same as Jesus’—to know and do the will of God? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Unprofitable Exchange
The good news of the gospel is that there is an antidote to our addition to things, a cure for our greed-sick souls. That antidote is the spiritual discipline of generous giving. Read More ...
David Hughes |
To Hell and Back
“To hell and back” isn’t just some catchy phrase where Jesus is concerned. It describes a real journey taken by the real Jesus for real people like you and me. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Big Ask
Elijah asked God for everything under the sun, and Elisha asked to have whatever Elijah was having…times two! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Healed!
As we attempt to discern what God wants for our future, we are called to give up all our delusions of grandeur, our prideful attempts to fix ourselves out of our own storehouse of wisdom. Read More ...
David Hughes |
With Wings Like Eagles
If we only depend upon our own wisdom, our own striving, our own talking, we will struggle to get off the ground. But if we wait upon the Lord and pray to the Lord as a unified people, we too can mount up with wings like eagles. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Amazing Authority
I believe as we dialogue about the future of our church, that voice with amazing authority will speak again. Are we listening? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Leaving The Nets Behind
I’m convinced that these days we are hearing the same invitation Peter and his friends heard from Jesus 2000 years ago. “Turn to me, trust me, follow me, only me, and I will make you fish for people.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
Hearing God
How do we know we are actually hearing God? Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Voice of The Lord
How do we know we are hearing the true voice of the Lord? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Strategic Moves
Our strategic God is always on the lookout for willing people to work alongside him and make his dreams for humanity come true. As we begin a new year together, I believe God is once again searching for willing people who will partner with him for the Kingdom. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Let It Be
The Annunciation refers to the announcement the angel Gabriel made to Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Meddlesome Messengers
John the Baptist was a meddlesome messenger sent by God to preach inconvenient truths and prepare the way for the Son of God. And as it turned out, the Son of God was an even more meddlesome messenger than his cousin. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Way Home
John the Baptist reminds us there is no better time to repent, to turn around and start the road back home than Advent. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Shining
Friends, I will not deny that these are difficult, even dark days for many people. But I want you to see that the people of God, and followers of Christ believe in the light, and anticipate the light, and follow the light even in the darkest of days. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Shepherd: Good or Gruff?
Christ is the Lamb of the World who’d give up his own life for you in a heartbeat. But he’s also the mighty King of this world, and one day he will reappear in glory to clean up our mess and make all that’s wrong in this world right. Read More ...
David Hughes |
God’s Thanksgiving
The Father is waiting. And even when we are a long way off, He will run to us, embrace us, kill the fattened calf, and say, “Welcome home. Oh my, I’ve been looking for you to come home.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
Good Grief
It doesn’t matter if your loved one died last month, last year, the last decade, or the last century. Your grief may still be surprisingly fresh and real. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Unless You Go With Us
The truth is, those who’ve seen Jesus have seen God’s face. The Spirit of Christ is with us even in the darkness. And if we’ll stay close to him, he will get us to the Promised Land. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Scandalous Prayer
What would happen to your prayer life if you actually prayed like your prayers could change the world? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Meditation of My Heart
If you really want to make progress with God, invite him into the meditation of your heart. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Discipline Of Humility
Here’s what I’m learning about the Christian life. It only really works when I practice the discipline of humility, when I let go of my need to control God and everybody else. It only works when God is actually in charge. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Unforgettable
This tenth anniversary of an unforgettable day gives us an opportunity to do something very valuable—take a deep breath and pause to remember who we are and whose we are. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Acceptable Debt
As far as Paul is concerned, love is a debt owed by every person alive, and it’s a debt that can never be repaid in ten lifetimes, much less one. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Call
Greg Levoy suggests, every person ever born faces fundamental questions that will not go away: “Who made me? Who am I? What I am here to do, really?” These are the questions “to which (we) need to respond, expose (ourselves), and kneel before” in the presence of God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Ulimate Sacrifice
What does the process of spiritual formation look like? Here is where Paul’s teaching in Romans 12 comes in handy. Read More ...
David Hughes |
All Shall Be Well
What I notice about Christ-followers, including myself, is that as we go through our hard times, one of the first things to go is our belief in a fundamental tenet of the biblical faith—the goodness of God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Moment of Truth
Jesus won’t just lift you from the stormy waters because he can. He will save you because you are honored, precious in his sight, and he loves you. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Examination
My friends, if you want to be conformed into the image of Christ, there is no detour around regular, even daily self-examination. Avoid it, and you will remain stuck. Try it, and God will use it to change your life! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Fertile Soil
Every fertile heart is a dependent heart, dependent in a healthy way upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Road of Godforsakenness
Many of us have a walked what one commentator called the “road of godforsakenness.” We walk that road when we flunk out of school. Or fail in our careers. Or lose our jobs. Or experience financial failure. Or relapse in our addiction. Or endure a disastrous divorce. Or lose our health. Or our spouse. Or, God forbid, our child. Maybe we think only those who are weak in faith walk the godforsaken road. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Trinity at Work
Without ever using the word Jesus, the founder of Christianity and Paul, the first and greatest theologian of the Christian church, make it clear that the Trinity is the most satisfactory way we have to describe our experience of God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Stormy Weather
If you will invite the Spirit of Jesus Christ to come into your life and wait patiently and prayerfully like those early followers of Jesus, his spirit will blow into your heart, blast out the cobwebs of your life and rearrange the landscape of your soul. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Meditations for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
How do you know you are being formed in the image of Christ? One bit of evidence is that you are willing to place your life, your future, and your eternal life in the secure, and loving hands of God. And along the way, you’re willing to let God be in charge of your relationship. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Making Christ Known
Today, I want to say to you that we must be transformed, individually and corporately, in our attitude and approach to evangelism. If we love Jesus, we cannot and will not skirt around our mandate to show our love for others by introducing them in a winsome way to Jesus Christ, and then shepherding them in their the journey of spirit transformation. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Flash of Recognitition
The Risen Christ can meet us anytime or any place, especially on the road to our Emmauses, in the ordinary places and experiences of our lives. You just never know when you might find a shiny new penny on the carpet, or Jesus in the breaking of the bread, or in a meditation upon scripture, or in a host of other spiritual practices. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Changed
Our new Easter clothes declare we can be changed from our drab, sinful selves into our new, truest selves by the greatest fashion designer of all time, Jesus Christ. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Lord’s Doing
Jesus was a stunning specimen of a human being more powerful even than the mythical Hercules. But he never tried to conceal the fact that he was beholden to his heavenly father for all he said and did. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Heart Scan
We are so fortunate that two thousand years ago Jesus, the original cardiologist “who knew what was in everyone,” recognized we had a potentially fatal spiritual heart problem. So he died on a cross to atone for our sins, shedding his blood so the sinful blockage of our hearts might be cleared away. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Gusher
Jesus’ love for you doesn’t just flow like a fountain. It’s more like a gusher. So, why not take a drink—today! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Sabotage
Temptation is no stranger to any of us. Someone has written that opportunity only knocks once but temptation bangs on your door for years. How well we know! Oscar Wilde has written, “I can resist anything but temptation.” How well we know! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Mountaintop Experience
Dan Allender has written, “God has crafted our character and gives us a role that will reveal something about Him that no-one else’s story can reveal in quite the same way.” I am excited to see How God can lead us to discover our unique stories and then become Holy Listeners for each other. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Our Deficit Problem
If the kingdom of God were actually the organizing principle of your life, how would you use your God-given time, and treasure, and talent for the work of the kingdom in this church? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Flesh and Blood Security
God values our bodies as well as our souls. And how we take care of our bodies matters greatly to God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Choices, Choices
Today and everyday we have a fundamental choice, a choice that trumps all other choices, a choice that shapes the rest of this life and all of eternity. What will we do about Jesus? On this day God has set before us life and death. On this day, God is saying to you and to me, “Choose life. Choose Jesus.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
Out in the Open
Roughly two thousand years ago Jesus preached a sermon that outshines John Winthrop’s sermon and all other sermons ever preached in human history. That sermon would eventually be titled, “The Sermon on the Mount.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
Tent Rules
With the presence of almighty God in the tent of our soul, I am persuaded, with the Apostle Paul, that neither death, nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall separate (or shake) us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Read More ...
David Hughes |
Immediately
There is only one Jesus, and he is worth more than anything else in this world. More than family. More than career and possessions. More than fame and fortune. And he has called every one of us to follow him to become fishers of people and builders of his kingdom. Read More ...
David Hughes |
What are you looking for?
“Prayer sorts out our desires,” writes David Benner. “Notice that I did not say that in prayer we are able to sort out our desires. No. The sorting work is God’s, not ours. Our job is to sit in God’s presence and allow God to purify our desires. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Our Dumpster-Diving God
Try as we might to keep our living rooms and lives clean and tidy, they get messy with all manner of problems. Problems with our spouses and children. Problems with our bosses and colleagues at work. Problems with our friends and fellow church members. Problems with our jobs and finances. Problems with our physical and mental health. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Signs and Dreams
Do we know from our personal experience that Emmanuel is more than just a nice name for Jesus? Read More ...
David Hughes |
The One
Today, we often look for a middle-class, American-style Messiah who would make us healthy, wealthy and wise. Meanwhile, Jesus is looking not for artificial followers but real disciples with real commitment who will get out of their comfort zones, roll up their sleeves, and minister to the least and the lost, the blind and the deaf, the lame and the leper—to his people wherever they are. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Enduring Hope
Somehow, like Amos Fortune, Paul experienced the worst life could dish out and still believed the best about life’s ultimate outcome. Was Paul an incurable optimist? No. In fact, Paul was very realistic about the trials and tribulations of life. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Situational Awareness
The truth is we all have those “I quit” moments. But remember, the word of Jesus is the only sure thing we’ve got in this world. And Jesus is saying, “Don’t quit. Stand firm. Together we’ll accomplish more than you think. And even if you die trying, you will win life.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
Heavenly Hypothetical
We can’t help but wonder about heaven, can we? Of course, the most basic question is, Is there a heaven? But our questions don’t end there. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Halloween Treat
On this very day—October 31, 1517—493 years ago, on an All Hallows Eve long before our modern customs of Halloween began, a grown man pounded a door. He was pounding on the door of a church, not a home. And he wasn’t trick-or-treating. He was nailing a statement of 95 propositions, or 95 Theses, to the door of Castle Church, the local Catholic church of Wittenburg, Germany. These 95 Theses turned out to be quite a Halloween treat that ultimately changed the world. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Finishing Well
Joseph Wittig once said that when we write people’s biographies we should start with their death, not with their birth. After all, we have nothing to do with the way our lives begin, but we have a lot to do with the way they end. Read More ...
Finishing Well |
Wearing God Out
Is the best way to get a “yes” answer from God simply to wear him out with your asking? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Great Love
Lamentations is dark precisely because it reflects on a dark period of Jewish history—the fall of Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah in 587 B.C. Jerusalem, which had been inhabited since 3000 B.C. had swelled in population over time with thousands of Jewish citizens, and the City of David was unquestionably the Crown Jewel of Israel. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Good Life
In America, we replaced family rank with income rank. In this country, it’s your net worth that defines your self-worth. The good news is that ours is a more fair system. The bad news is that ours is a system that easily leads to obsession with money. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Shrewd Saints
When we think of being shrewd, we think of a whole lot of things. But I bet few of us probably associate shrewdness with Christianity -- much less Jesus. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Lost
When Jesus talks about the lost, it's with a twinkle in his eye and love in his heart. Jesus doesn't talk about lost people like they are the scum of the earth. He’s far more interested in showing his “losties” the way back home, and throwing a big party when they finally fall into the arms of a loving God. Read More ...
David Hughes |
A Modest Proposal
From a slave of Philemon to a bishop of a Christian church. That’s no modest change. That’s a major transformation. And that’s what the revolutionary gospel of Christ can do! Read More ...
David Hughes |
See You At The Top
The human longing for higher status is a predictable part of our fallen frame, and the human game of one-upsmanship is one of our favorite pastimes. But it’s nothing new. Indeed, Jesus, the greatest of all psychologists, identified this human dynamic 2000 years ago. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Resting Easy
So, my friends, Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Doing so might save your career. More importantly, it will save your soul.
Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Triumph of Love
Hosea lived 2700 years ago, but his insights are as fresh and relevant as today’s newspaper. Hosea has been called the “love prophet,” and the 11th chapter of Hosea the “love chapter.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
One Thing
To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind means first and foremost to sit at the feet of Jesus. And until or unless we get that down pat, nothing else really matters. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Echo Chamber
Over and over again, the Bible affirms that this life is a precious gift, and it matters a great deal what we do with it. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Free At Last—To Serve
But Christians in America are called to reserve their first loyalty not to the government in Washington but to the Kingdom of God. Our Commander in Chief is ultimately Jesus, not the President. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Exorcist
You’ve tried to exorcise your own demons, and failed—miserably. You’ve told yourself you’ve got to learn to live with your demons, manage them as best you can, hide them in the deep tombs of your life and pray nobody notices. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Selling Yourself
Early on in our lives we learn how to project different versions of ourselves—sometimes gracious, sometimes gruff, sometimes pious, sometimes proud—whatever version we think is necessary to get what we want. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Big
The concept of spaciousness was special to the Hebrew people, for one very practical reason—they and their land were hemmed in by enemies on all sides. Every moment of their existence felt cramped. To say God was wide, great, and I would add, big, was the supreme compliment. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Fresh Air
Every Christ-follower possesses the Holy Spirit. And every Christ follower can updraft on the fresh air of God’s Spirit to overcome the down draft of sin.
Read More ...
David Hughes |
What Baptists Believe
So the next time you’re at a party and you’re asked what Baptists believe, don’t be calling me on your cell phone for a review! Just remember the four fragile freedoms—Bible freedom, Soul freedom, Church freedom, and Religious freedom—and you’ll be fine.
Read More ...
David Hughes |
What's the Big Deal about Being Baptist?
No, Baptists aren’t the only freedom-loving people in the world. But thanks to their efforts, millions of people here and abroad enjoy freedom of conscience when it comes to religion. No elected official, no ordained minister controls what we believe, or what we do about church, if anything. And that, my friends, is a very big deal! Read More ...
David Hughes |
Just Walk Across the Room- Together
Remember, we don’t win people to Christ. The Spirit of Christ does that. And the Spirit of Christ is never more evident, never more powerful than when the people of God walk together one in mind and heart.
So, what do you say we just walk across the room—together!
Read More ...
David Hughes |
Just Walk Across the Room- Living the Vision
What I do have is confidence that God is God and I am not. And what I do have is the belief that you and I are supposed to be about living the vision God has assigned us on this earth. That’s not going to mean all of us will need to quit our jobs and go into full-time Christian ministry. It is going to mean that at the end of the day our ultimate priority should be people - reaching people far from God with a clear and winsome explanation and demonstration of God’s love. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Just Walk Across the Room- Telling Your Story
If you keep reading John 4, you learn this Samaritan woman goes into town and tells everybody she meets about her encounter with Jesus. She’s never had the benefit of Sunday School, never read a book about evangelism, never taken a course in seminary. All she’s done is have a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ. And her only strategy is to point people to Jesus. Consequently many people in her community came to know Christ.
It doesn’t take theological training or moral sainthood to reach others for Christ. A passion for Jesus, and a love for his people are all that’s required.
So, what’s holding you back? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Just Walk Across the Room- Expanding the Circle
I notice that most of us, myself included, are quick to condemn the heartless Pharisees who would rather keep the law than see Jesus heal a man. But how much more sense does it make, my friends, to conduct our worship services and our committee meetings and our programs as though as people outside these walls don’t even exist? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Just Walk Across the Room- Takng the Plunge
Friends, here’s what we need to know. Evangelism done right is not about following formulas or memorizing scripts or getting people saved through our effort. It’s not about banging people over the head with the bible or scaring them with hell or wearing them down with 28 stanzas of “Just As I Am” until they finally crawl to the altar. It’s about being so in love with God and in love with God’s people and so in tune with the Holy Spirit that you are willing to take the plunge and play the role God wants you to play to point people to him. And evangelism done right is one of the most exciting enterprises in the world. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Level Ground
What this means is that regardless of what is happening anywhere else, the church should be a place where everybody meets on level ground. It doesn’t matter what life is like for the poor at the civic club or the country club or the cocktail party or the local corporation. Here, if we are being formed into the image of Christ, everybody will be valued equally. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Hand-in-Glove with God
As we conclude our Spiritual Formation weekend, let’s be clear about one thing. The goal of spiritual formation is not to experiment with some neat, new practices for our own entertainment or edification. The goal is to get into a hand-in-glove relationship with God, and live out his agenda for our lives. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Invitation to a Journey
But here is a secret of spiritual formation. God does some of his best work when we get quiet and honest with him about the broken places and the old sinful practices of our lives. I used to tell people I didn’t practice silence and solitude because I didn’t have time. The truth is, I didn’t practice silence and solitude because I didn’t have the courage to sit with God in my broken places. It was too scary, too uncomfortable. What I didn’t know is that I was depriving God of the opportunity to heal me and transform into a new person. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Bread of Life
Many centuries ago the early church father St. Augustine posed the following experiment. Imagine God saying to you, “I’ll make a deal with you if you wish. I’ll give you anything you desire: pleasure, power, honor, wealth, freedom, even peace of mind and good conscience. Nothing will be a sin; nothing will be forbidden; nothing will be impossible for you. You will never be bored and you will never die. Only…you will never see my face.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
A Sacred Rhythm
For many years I lived my life as if I had no limits. Others might need a day off, but I didn’t. A pastor’s work is never done. Or so I told myself. All the while, I could feel myself getting dangerously tired, and not knowing what to do about it. The only justifiable way to rest was to get sick. And even then I’d often keep pushing because my work was just too important to stop. Or so I told myself. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Calvin at 500
And if you are not already thoroughly confused, followers of Dutch theologian Joseph Arminius muddy the water still more. Arminians whole-heartedly agree with Calvin that we are incapable of saving ourselves. We don’t choose God. God chooses us. However, say Arminians, for God’s choice to finally make a difference, we must respond to God’s grace. In other words, God makes the first move (prevenient grace) but he can’t save us by himself. At some point, we have to cooperate (cooperative grace) with God by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Even though God chooses us to be his own, we have the freedom to resist his grace and say, “No. I’d rather be in Hell.” Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Power of Ritual
Can anybody say with absolute authority they know how this ritual works? No. Somehow, in ways no one can understand or explain, the same Jesus who taught in the synagogue and performed miracles and instituted the Lord’s Supper and died on a cross and rose from the grave is present in breaking the bread and drinking the cup. Don’t ask me to explain it—I can’t. But I believe it, and so should you. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Good Timing
See, disciples of Jesus know that there is no bad time to dig down deep and give our finest love for him, and for those he loves. In fact, every time we give generously of ourselves and our resources at those seemingly bad times, we make the greatest impact for the Kingdom, and trigger major transformation in our own souls. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The Day Lightning Struck
Two thousand years ago the signs and wonders of Pentecost were strong winds, tongues of fire, and speaking in strange languages. Six weeks ago when Susan Boyle first stepped on stage the wonder was a voice that seemed to fall from heaven. What if the signs and wonders of the 21st century church are congregations so filled with the Holy Spirit and unified around Jesus that they consistently not only loved each other but broke out of their holy huddles to love and serve others? Read More ...
David Hughes |
Upstairs Downstairs
As we read on we learn that friends of Jesus love one another the way Jesus loves us. What would happen to this church, to all churches if we actually made that principle a priority? We learn that we’re Jesus’ friends because he chose us, not because we chose him. We learn Jesus chose us to be his friends not so we can spend our lives feathering our own nests, but so we might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. And we learn that friends of Jesus have the power of prayer at their disposal, and with that power, anything—and I do mean anything—is possible. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Radical Respect
Want to have a great family? It’s nothing radical love and respect won’t deliver. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Opening Up
Let me tell you what many Christians are like. They’re like dogwood blossoms that never open, that stay cocooned in closed minds and shrouded souls. How sad. But how beautiful are those dogwood blooms that open into blossoms, becoming a visual feast not only to our eyes but our souls.
Read More ...
David Hughes |
Our Covenant: To Make an Impact on Others
I have to admit this story hit me between the eyes. I’m keenly aware of how bad Christians can look when they get mixed up in politics, or go overboard on Christian television. But I’ve not reflected much on how badly we can come across in venues like restaurants. Which is telling, because the truth is we often give far less thought to how we impact other people than we should. Read More ...
David Hughes |
The New Deal
Remember when Jeremiah is writing Israel has been a divided kingdom for over 100 years. This division among God’s people, into the house of Israel and the house of Judah, was heartbreaking to God. Remember, God’s dream had always been to fashion a unified, inclusive community of believers and followers all over the world. Remember God offered this new covenant to a community of faith, not just to individuals. And I believe a part of the New Deal is a promise to reconstitute a broken community into a new, unified community, much like the community that emerged over six hundred years later when the early church was born. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Life Before Death
There is something unique that happens to us when we gather in community. It’s why we got up this morning and came here rather than staying in bed on this raining day. It’s why, by the way, the Devil is always working so hard to fragment and divide us. See, the Devil understands that while the Spirit inhabits us individually he also inhabits us uniquely while we are in community. And so the Evil One is always trying to keep us divided and apart because apart we don’t possess the spirit in quite the same way. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Choosing the Cross
We’re not transformed by Christ so much by soft experiences on sunny days. Christ transforms us more on those dark difficult days of suffering when we carry our crosses and learn first hand that the only power that can save us is the power of God. I don’t know what inner crosses of suffering, and abuse, and rejection you bear. But God does. And if you will invite God into those hard places and trust him with your very life, your soul will be transformed, and one day the darkness of crucifixion will make way for the dawn of resurrection in your soul. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Colorful Covenant
As we begin our journey of Lent in 2009, I would ask you to adopt the following spiritual practice—every time you notice a rainbow in the sky after a spring shower, don’t just remember Noah and the ark. Remember Jesus and his cross. Remember the rainbow that always shines through the rain, the grace that always shines through the cross, and the love that will never, ever let you go. Read More ...
David Hughes |
What Generous Churches Look Like- Part 1
Of course, the key to it all is that members of generous churches give themselves first to the Lord before they give a dime to anybody else. They understand that commitment to Christ is the foundation for everything in the Christian life, including giving. Without that prior commitment to Christ, even generous gifts are ultimately hollow. Read More ...
David Hughes |
By What Authority?
I wonder, this morning, what authority you answer to if any. If you like your life just the way it is, stay put. But if you are ready to live life to the fullest, consider reporting to another authority—the highest and truest there is. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Who We Are: Our Covenant
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 4, 2009. Read More ...
David Hughes |
Who We Are: Our Mission
Sermon delivered by David Hughes, pastor of First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Jan. 11, 2009. Read More ...
David Hughes |
|
|
