We recently had our annual Christmas musical at Lancaster Baptist Church. The amount of work put into these productions is staggering—not just in the thousands of hours given by the choir, orchestra, and drama teams, but also the thousands of invitations given out all across our community in the weeks preceding the musical.

What is the hardest material in the human body? Although this substance is the toughest, it can begin to break down through constant stress as seen in one grinding his teeth or clenching his stomach from acid indigestion.

The Christmas season is always a time of challenge and wonder in the area of preaching. One of my favorite texts comes from Luke chapter two where Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the temple.

One of the key factors for a growing church is strong leadership in small groups ministry. Over the past eighteen months, we have placed a massive emphasis on small groups in our church and we have seen the blessings result.

One of the reasons I love the Christmas season is that it is such a great time of year for initiating gospel conversations. Between the special church events and the fact that many people still do want to go to church to celebrate Christmas, this is also the easiest time of year to invite people to church.

You’ve heard it (and maybe shared it): “Keep Christ in Christmas.” It’s a great thought…but do you do it?

In studying James chapter four, I find that there are at least seven ways to miss God’s will for your life. Here is an overview of the seven:

After admonishing every believer as Christian soldiers to put on the whole armor of God and identifying each piece of that armor in Ephesians 6:10–17, Paul commands us to be, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer must be our attitude and action in our battle with Satan, the flesh, and the world.

When Terrie and I moved to Lancaster over thirty years ago, I began an eighteen-month season of intense personal outreach. Every week, I would knock on no less than five hundred doors personally with a church invitation and a purpose to share the gospel at the door.

Do you have a heart that is overflowing in praise and thankfulness to God? Do you have a praise list that is equal to your prayer list? Are you careful to take inventory all of the good things God is doing for you?