Josh Hunt's Blog, page 274
November 19, 2015
Thinking Biblically about immigration
James K. Hoffmeier, You only need to turn on the news to realize that we have a problem. Some might even label it a crisis. It is not just an American issue—illegal immigration has become the major social and legal challenge facing the western world in the twenty-first century. By the middle of 2006, over […]
Unexpected benefits of neighboring
In 2009 I (Dave) gathered a group of twenty lead pastors in the Denver area so we could think, dream, and pray about how our churches might join forces to serve our community. We invited our local mayor, Bob Frie, to join us, and we asked him a simple question: How can we as churches […]
November 18, 2015
Barna on Immigration
Federal law currently allows 675,000 legal immigrants each year, and Congress and the president can set an additional number for special refugees. Some 40,000 federal agents are paid to enforce these laws, but once again Americans are not getting what they pay for, for there are an estimated 11.7 million illegal immigrants now residing in […]
Why they stayed
It has been widely reported that many young people are leaving the church. What is less often reported is that many stay. Steve Parr and Tom Crites have teamed up to produce and excellent new book on why those who stay, stay. Here are a few excerpts: No generation should be ignored. However, any congregation […]
November 17, 2015
The art of neighboring
What if the solution to our society’s biggest issues has been right under our noses for the past two thousand years? When Jesus was asked to reduce everything in the Bible into one command he said: Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. What if he meant that we should […]
October 26, 2015
Custom Lessons
Do you need custom Bible lesson for… A special sermon series? Sermon-based small groups? Your own 40-day campaign? We would be happy to talk to you about writing custom lesson for your church. The normal price for these lessons is $200 per lesson. We offer and introductory offer of half off—only $100 per lesson. Each […]
October 25, 2015
The key to good discussion
You can plan a list of primary questions ahead of your group meeting, but secondary questions have to come to you in the moment, in response to whatever the group does. Doing this effectively doesn’t ultimately depend on your memorizing all the possible kinds of questions. If you relax and really listen to what people […]
October 23, 2015
Give more options than yes and no.
Fact-finding questions become boring when they are closed-ended, asking for a single word or short phrase, or worse, they can stop a discussion cold: Q: Do you identify with the disciples in this passage? A: Not really. “No” and “Yes” are not great conversation starters. A person can answer yes or no without even engaging […]
It is not about trying really hard to be good
There is a common mis-perception—inside and outside the church—that Christian living is fundamentally about trying really hard to be good. It is not. It is about being transformed. This has a lot to do with changing the way we think: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing […]
October 20, 2015
Watch out for vagueness
The question “How do you respond to what Jesus says in Mt. 5:17–20?” is likely to leave people wondering what kind of response you’re looking for. An emotional response? An opinion about the truth or falsehood of Jesus’ statement? A personal application? You should specify: “What feelings does Jesus’ statement in Mt. 5:17–20 evoke in […]
