Building the Kingdom Archives

When John Crist Dishes out the Truth: Just Be Kind

April 28, 2018

Sometimes, y’all, the truth can hit you when you least expect it. Like, when John Crist dishes out the truth at one of his shows. And not as a joke, either.

So, last night my family and I went to go see a comedy show. Yep, none other than John Crist. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one or two of his videos. John is a huuuuge internet sensation right now. He’s a pretty funny guy that pokes fun at the Church. To add icing to the cake, he has even done voice over for Adventures in Odyssey. And we all know how much I love Adventures in Odyssey. I’m still looking for someone to build that Imagination Station, by the way…

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How to Make Disciples and Grow the Kingdom

February 4, 2018

The week before last, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the author of a new commentary, Genuine Christianity. Justin Miller, the author, is Lead Pastor of his church in Puxico, Missouri. He also trains pastors to go out into the world and plant and revitalize churches. What I didn’t know at the time of signing up to interview him was that his book focused on Paul’s letter to Titus. And if you know me, Titus is my absolute favorite book of the Bible. Short, yes. But, it is also a great directive on how the Church should operate. Not to mention, how the Church can make disciples and grow the kingdom.

Justin Miller and Genuine Christianity

While Justin is now currently the Lead Pastor of his church, his story of how he got there is amazing. Justin told me when he was eleven, he asked someone to buy him a Bible. The next year or so later, he was baptized, but never truly understood what grace or salvation was. Justin was one of those kids that thought God was just ready to judge him and condemn him for every little thing. I’m sure we, ourselves, can relate. But, we also know that God is good and He doesn’t do that. Salvation- true salvation– is a great thing, friend!

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What Are You Waiting For? Time to Take Prayerful Action

August 3, 2017

Alright, friends. So, I’ve been sitting on this post for a couple of weeks now. Like, pretty close to a month. And I decided last week, Thursday maybe?, that I would take prayerful action and post this particular post this week. Wouldn’t you know, the visiting preacher touched on part of this post before he began preaching last Saturday night. Kind of had to laugh a little. Perfect timing.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about doing that… I just haven’t yet.”

“Oh, yeah! I had that same idea a while ago. I just.. well, I’ve been thinking on it.”

Raise of hands, friend. How many of us have heard something similar along these lines?

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Give a little, gain a lot.

July 7, 2017

Gather around, friends. It’s time to share something God spoke to my heart last week. Something about when you give a little, you gain a lot.

So, last week, I was causally praying about a certain thing. I want to keep a little privacy here, so we’ll just refer to what I was praying about as that “thing“. You know, just a causal prayer, “Lord, give us this thing“, as I was praying for other requests made known by the congregation at church.

It wasn’t one of those prayers that you could feel all of Heaven and earth moving. But, friend, the reply from God that I received definitely moved me almost to the point of tears.

“You already have that thing,” He whispered.

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Use What the Good Lord Gave You

February 8, 2017

Full disclosure: This is not the post I had originally planned to share this week. I guess there is a reason the other post didn’t sound exactly right? But the title of this is “use what the good Lord gave you” and I had to use the post I felt Him pushing on my heart.

Over the weekend, one of my favorite visiting preacher’s stopped by to preach for us. I’d be lying if I said this particular preacher wasn’t in my Top Five Favorites. Okay, fine. Top Three.

Both messages that he preached to us have given me a lot of food for thought. It seems no matter who is up preaching, two reoccurring themes we’ve been hearing lately are “Use the talents the Lord gave to you for Him” and “Get ready! We’re fighting for revival!”

The original post was going to discuss how the church and each individual needs to be ready to take back what belongs to God. I had the majority of the post written and ready to go, but I had this strange inkling I needed to hold off on posting that one. Maybe you need to read this one instead? I truly don’t know the reason.

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