I'm sure you've heard something like this before, "God helps those who help themselves." It sounds nice and encouraging - a motivation to action; the only problem - it's not biblical. That phrase is found nowhere in the Bible, and the very idea is actually diametrically opposed to the message of the Gospel.

So we've survived the holidays, but pretty soon we'll be getting the credit card bills for all those presents we bought. Last week I talked about being careful with your time. Now I want to think about being careful with our money. 'We just celebrated Christmas and New Year's and now, the preacher wants to spoil the mood by talking about money...?'...

So, Christmas is over and we have another brand new year. How was your year? We've had a couple of pretty rough ones. Personally, I'd have to say I was blessed this past year, but just because I was blessed doesn't mean that everything was easy. The same can be said about a lot of ...

I want to point us to a man in scripture who was celebrating the events of Christmas even before Christmas was invented - about 700 years before Jesus was born. Let's look at familiar words I shared last evening, but now a little deeper, in Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)...

How much time in the month of December do we spend thinking about the birth of Jesus versus time spent shopping, wrapping presents, decorating, and going to and from Christmas parties and events? And every time, I think it's going to be different this year... I love Christmas, but I'm not a fan of all of the ...

Have you heard someone use the phrase, "I feel seen" - or "I see you"? Of course it can mean simply that you visually see someone with your eyes. But also, 'Feeling seen' means feeling acknowledged - like "I feel understood" or "I feel affirmed". For someone to 'see you' it means they need to be present in the moment...

I read a story recently that I had to research because, frankly, it sounded fake. However - in Hanover, Germany, there is the grave of a woman named Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling who lived from 1756 to 1782. She was only 26 years old when she died. She had given birth to three sons, all of whom had ...

I learned a money saving tip recently that I had to share with you... Most people have foundations for their homes - but no one actually lives in their foundation. So, you can just tear out the foundation and use all of that material to then build an addition onto your house for virtually 'free'! Pretty amazing, right? It makes perfect sense......

I heard someone say, 'Thanksgiving isn't really a religious holiday, you know like Christmas or Easter...' Well, it actually is a religious holiday even if it isn't celebrated as such by most. Thanksgiving is a holiday, not just to give 'thanks' in some general, non-specific way. It was established to give thanks to God, The...

We see stories about homeless people on the streets in bigger cities. We see people around here with signs at intersections asking for help. Household budgets continue to be tight with inflation and rising food and gas prices. Personally, I have always had a roof over my head and I've never starved, but I have been out of work ...