I am convinced more and more that the essence of preaching is the proclamation of the redemptive story--God reaching out to humanity out of his love, sending Christ to live and sacrificially die for us, and raising Jesus Christ from the dead. It is a story about God taking the blackest of life and bringing light into the world. It is about the…

Dr. James Cail was a popular psychology teacher at Oklahoma Christian University who often filled in and preached at one of the local churches there in Oklahoma City. Dr. Cail had quite a sense of humor, which is helpful in preaching. And besides his folksy style, he had a memorable way of speaking, using descriptive words. 





For instance, for some reason I remember him talking about a "foot long" barrel in a message,…

Nehemiah-Rebuilding the Walls from James Nored on Vimeo.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerses, a Persian, when the people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. When he heard that his home city of Jerusalem was a black,…

We Need to Change the Stories We Tell Ourselves (from Ruth) from James Nored on Vimeo.

Churches, ministers, pastors, and church administrators go to the time and trouble of posting sermons online each week on websites and social…

Nehemiah-Rebuilding the Walls from James Nored on Vimeo.

What do you do when your life or your family is a smoldering mess? One of the books of the Bible, Nehemiah, has much insight into…

Today is the day that milliions of Christians around the world celebrate Christ's resurrection. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was an incredible act of God. By this act, death itself was defeated! Paul wrote in 1 Corintians 15:

Our community is made up of those in a particular geographic region that we live, work, or inhabit, as well as the close and extended relational contacts that we have. Most people's communities in this day and age are wide and diverse, made up of many different demographics, social, and religious backgrounds.

There are two passages that come most to…

Last week I spoke out at the Tulsa Workshop. I had two seminar sessions--one on "Reaching Out to Muslims," and another on "Reaching Out to Today's Postmodern Culture." In the study and preparation for this, I was very much convicted of the need for us to have a consistent, intentional prayer ministry for Muslims and…

What is “transformation?” It is a metamorphosis from one state to another. It requires a “change” – a change of attitude and a change of action. We are admonished to “grow” to maturity. Sometimes this means a reexamination of our assumptions about what it means to be a Christian. When I was growing up what it…

The Book of Ruth

Today I would like to share some thoughts with you about finding redemption from a bitter life. Some things are naturally bitter, like tea or coffee or dark…

I am preparing a message from the book of Ruth on "Redemption from a Bitter Life." Naomi, an Israelite, moves to Moab due to a famine, and there her husband and her two sons die. She goes back to Israel, and she tells people to call her "Mara," which means "bitter" because she is very bitter about her life. Who would not struggle with this in her…

This week I was reading the book of Judges. And if you are familiar with this book, you know that there is a common cycle that the people of Israel find themselves in.

1. They sin by following after other gods--the evil, false gods of the Canaanites.

2. God punishes them by allowing or proactively sending their enemies in against them.

3.…

A lot of my life was centered around fear, mostly running away from fear itself. Even after I became a Christian, I avoided thinking about the fear that lived within my troubled heart. A lot of the ways I stepped out in faith were my attempts to overcome fears. I chided myself with scriptures: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me…

One of our great fallacies as humans is that we forget. Our memories become faulty, and we may misremeber details.



In college my wife and I became really close with a young couple that we knew from choir. We became such good friends that, though they were several years younger than us, it seemed like they had always been in choir with us. For instance, we kept inserting them back into our choir trip to New York, even though they could not possibly have been there then. We…

Story of Redemption 1.1. - "Intro and In the Beginning" (from Love and Creation) from James Nored on Vimeo.

In thinking about and planning for outreach, we often only focus on adults. And yet teens (and even those younger) can be incredible evangelists for…

This weekend I have been blessed to participate in a "StratOp" retreat with Stan and Gena Granburg, directors of Kairos Church Planting, and the Richardson East Church of Christ. This type of retreat helps the church define their mission, vision, and values--and just as importantly, make plans to live these out.

I want to focus in this post on…

I checked my last entry on the Missional Outreach Network and found that it was in September! Time flies by so quickly! I will be sharing a video soon on The Relationship Project.

I will be sharing the latest on the Relationship Project.

Today's Thought to ponder; In a Christian worldview relationships must be a priority. Instead of looking at the relationships of others, it is time for leaders to begin examining our own life and relationships.In fact a good place to begin in…

In their book Coffee Shop Conversations, Dale and Jonalyn Fincher have a section on how to talk in loving and grace-oriented ways with seekers. Whether these…

Thanksgiving is a great time of food, family, and fun (the fun in our family includes watching the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game!). But did you know that Thanksgiving is also a great time and opportunity to reach out.



Here are seven simple but powerful ways to reach out this Thanksgiving and have a "missional" Thanksgiving. (A thank you to…