Pastor David Keuss - Hope without Compromise

T he Christian book, Habits of Grace , by David Mathis provides a great reminder and set of new challenges for a Christian seeking to sharpen their spiritual disciplines. There is the reminder to preach to yourself the gospel, page 41.  This helps us find responses to life in our fallen world Mathis states.  We must pause and take in the truth of the gospel, great advice, even as long time Christ followers. Beyond merely 'inductive Bible study' he recommends asking an old saint how they read the Bible.  This often includes less "formal instruction" and more learning the craft and art of what gets us deeply in God's word.  There is no quick fix program, even though popular programs abound.  A great word in itself there. Meditation on God's Word.  Believers are to reflect deeply on the truth of Scripture.  This is how we apply it.  Merely speed reading or memorizing Scripture is not enough.  We read for depth, but ponder over a section or...

In Christian Ethics, when something bad happens (especially such as a storm damage situation) there is an opportunity to do good as God's people.  Since this world is fallen, we have that opportunity.  If there had been no fall, and storms and people only did good, we would not be able to do greater good in return. This opportunity is being seized on in the East Dallas area.  The tornado system that hit Garland and Rowlett in particular has created a large group of people caring for those hurt by the storm.  So often we hear about the need for American churches to do more good.  There actually is an amazing amount of work always going on through church ministries.  But this storm illustrates how greater good is able to be done to help those whose homes and livelihoods were affected.  The number of churches including ours serving in various ways is truly a blessing to see in action. What a great testimony to the stepping up to do good, even when gre...

To illustrate the difference between knowing something is true and just believing it 'knowing', take this example: Jesus tells us we will not know the day or hour of his return, Matthew 24:36. Yet it seems fair to assume someone always thinks today or tomorrow or this week Jesus may return. But just because they believe it, even when it does happen, does not mean they "knew" it would happen in another sense. God bless!

When it comes to thinking of names for a Worship Center, it sounds easier than it is. Do you define it by purpose?  By historical coinage of terms, chapel, cathedral, etc, etc?  By denomination, like house of worship, house of prayer type names?  By region, just think Northeast versus mid-South?  Secular type names to appeal to anyone, such as auditorium? Something that sounds so simple actually can have impact various ways. A simple search yields some intriguing but not helpful ideas for your typical evangelical church: For instance, some synonyms aren't the best: http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/sanctuary And there's the connotation that the sanctuary is somehow more holy than other parts of a church or one's life outside of it, which is a dubious claim. The only thing that makes that so is that the Word of God is sung and preached in a sanctuary verbally and in hearts.  But if you consider the place, what does it mean to call it sanctified, ...

What are your thoughts on this as a person attending or helping lead in your church? http://thomrainer.com/2015/06/six-reasons-why-church-worship-centers-will-get-smaller/ My thoughts are that Thom is spot on.  He is exactly right that worship centers will get smaller over time.  Perhaps the biggest reasons are desire for multiple services and stewardship.  The desire for a more close feel among friends is also a strong contender. God bless!

When we are trying to follow Jesus sometimes a person will say something that sounds good, but is not God's will for us.  We go along because we feel they are spiritually mature, or out of peer pressure, or driven by fear.  But those are not reasons to do anything. Consider a few examples of being misled as a Christian person: 1.) The statement "I prayed about it and got a feeling to do --fill in the blank--."   While this sounds very spiritual, you do not see a single example of someone in the Bible making any decision, let alone a major decision, based on how they felt in a prayer.  This alone ought to eliminate this as a real contender, because there is no positive foundation to use it to decide anything.  Christians ought to be very skeptical of the human heart too, for God's Word declares boldly: 'the heart is deceitful above all things, and hopelessly sick.' (Jeremiah chapter 17)  King David speaking prophetically said that he was born with a si...

W hen you think about your work, your family situation, or your relationships, it is best to remember that God's truth makes one blessed.  Sometimes we forget this and imagine our life outside of church as a big "neutral" zone where we just operate by the world's advice.  But consider this, when Solomon assumed the throne of a kingship after his father David in Israel, he asked God for wisdom to lead.  And God heard the prayer.   One of the wisest people in history, due to God's blessing, Solomon lead a large and diverse (including parts of modern Syria, Jordan, Iraq) country. Recorded in 1st Kings the country thrived and had security due to godly wisdom in action. And yet God's wisdom extended to the practical.  He had a wise set of friends, who were in different roles, so there was balance.  These were also advisers with different backgrounds.  We read in the Bible that he had 12 directors over national provision who operated in turn, so that no ...