Abortion, Christian Living, Culture, Politics
John Beeson
Protecting the Voice of the Voiceless

The tide of public opinion on abortion has ebbed dramatically over the past two years. On Friday, June 22, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most critical decisions in our lifetime: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Forty-nine years of nationally enshrined abortion rights were pushed down to the states. The battle was not over, but had just begun. Pro-lifers who thought this was the beginning of a new pro-life era were in for a disappointment. The reaction from the pro-choice community was strong and their response led to a wave of support for their cause leaving many pro-lifers flat-footed.

Protecting the Voice of the Voiceless
Christian Living, Culture, Death, Fear
John Beeson
What Spooks You?

Across the street from our home is the holiday house. You probably have one in your neighborhood. They go all out for every holiday. On Saturday, cars stacked up on the main road leading into the neighborhood as families drove by slowly, taking in the massive display that must have cost the owners thousands of dollars.

 

Last week I drove by a home whose Halloween decorations weren’t as massive or ostentatious, but the lawn display was undoubtedly the eeriest I’ve ever seen. A life-like severed head hung from a tree limb. A decapitated corpse with a visible spinal cord jutting out between slumped shoulders sat underneath.

What Spooks You?
Christian Living, Culture, Fear, Wisdom
John Beeson
The Temptation of Temptation

In 2023, 46 horror movies were released. 75 million tickets were sold, and the industry made $798 million in domestic revenue alone. It’s been argued that horror movies remain a draw for many in the contemporary West because there is so little actual danger in most of our lives.

 

Atheist Steven Pinker in The Better Angels of Our Nature argues that we live in the most peaceful era of human existence: wars have decreased, human rights have expanded, and rates of starvation and lifespans have improved. Drawn to conflict, we now have access to global news coverage, which gives us the dopamine hit of feeling like we are in conflict.

The Temptation of Temptation
Christian Living, Fear, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
John Beeson
Night

What attracts us so much to the dark?

In the story of Swan Lake, a ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette (who has been cursed by the evil magician, Von Rothbart), after happening upon her at the lake one night during a hunting trip.  As a result of Von Rothbart's curse, Odette is human only at nightfall, for at daybreak she transforms into a swan.  True and faithful love is the only thing that can break the curse, and Siegfried aims to marry Odette, proclaiming such love, at a ball his mother is throwing for his birthday. 

Night
Christian Living, Death, Heaven, Religion, Spiritual Growth, Worship
John Beeson
How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the ...

In 2003, Bart Millard still mourning his father’s recent death, penned the lyrics for “I Can Only Imagine,” a song that would go on to be the most-played song in the history of Christian radio.

Can you imagine what heaven is going to be like?

There are lots of different views of heaven out there. A couple of decades ago a cottage industry developed, selling stories of those who said they had been to heaven while on death’s doorstep. We’re told of bright lights, lives re-played, and a warm glow. Others might daydream of harps and clouds, when asked to imagine heaven.

How Changing Your View of Heaven Transforms the Way You Live Today

church culture

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What If Everyone at Your Church Was Like You?

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What If Everyone at Your Church Was Like You?

Is the church biblically sound? Do its leaders bear a faithful witness with their personal lives? Is the theology sound? Does the worship honor Christ? Is there programming that helps those from diverse ages grow in faith? Does it reflect the ethnic diversity of its neighborhood?

This is just the tip of the iceberg of appropriate questions when considering whether a church might be a good fit for us. Most of us have a finely tuned ability to evaluate churches. We’ve developed these skills by combining our biblical knowledge with our experience in our consumer culture.

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The Gospel Changes Everything

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The Gospel Changes Everything

Many Christians think about the gospel as the entry gate into Christianity. It’s a gate that is opened with “Do you confess you are a sinner and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” and walked through with a prayer of salvation.

There is truth in that. But only about as much truth is there in believing that the earth is a sphere or that LeBron James is a human being. Those are correct statements as far as they go, but so little of the truth has been stated. There’s so much more we can (and should) say.

At New Life, we believe that the gospel changes everything.

In this series of posts we are reflecting on our nine cultural values at New Life. Last week we affirmed that God is big and God is good.

When we talk of the gospel, we speak of the good news. It’s a term that Jesus coined for the announcement he declared through his ministry.

ELBOWING ROME IN THE RIBS

It’s not surprising that multiple times throughout the book of Matthew and at least once in Mark, the gospel is connected to God’s Kingdom. For instance, In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, “And the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (see also Matt 4:23, 9:35, 26:13, and Mark 1:15).

The reason that it’s unsurprising Jesus would connect gospel language with kingdom language is that he actually borrowed the term gospel from the Romans.

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God is big and God is good

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God is big and God is good

A few years ago our staff created a staff culture document (you can read more about that journey here). It was a vital part of our journey for our staff. It helped changed the course of who we are.

Last year we began to take that same journey with our church. We created a church culture document. The purpose of this document is to express who we are at our best and who we aspire to be in the future, by the grace of God.

Elders and staff were engaged in creating a list that reflects our unique DNA as a church. We are excited to unveil it this summer. Our prayer is that the list both encourages us and exhorts us.

Our 9 distinctive cultural values at New Life are:

1: God is big and God is good

· God is most glorified when we most enjoy Him.

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