Our church is entering an honoring season: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Graduation. I think that honor is becoming a bit of a lost art. There are a couple of reasons: Social Media tends to egocentric. This is not a criticism about social media but instead a reality. When we post we tend to post …
Author Archives: stevedhiggs
Hope In The Divine: The Failure Of Secular Humanism
Secular humanism is a way of thought that places utmost importance on the human being over the divine. In secular humanism you hear a lot about “my truth”, “my path”, and “my way.” It has promised us peace because no longer would we be oppressed by anyone else’s views. It has promised us joy because …
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What We Fight About When We Fight About Taxes
The state of Illinois is at the beginning of what appears to be a robust and lengthy debate on the subject of taxes. It is an issue that sharply divides people. I think if we were just fighting about tax code it would be an easier debate to have but we aren’t just fighting about …
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Restore Us: Living Like Jesus In A Punitive World
We started a new sermon series at our church called No Offense. In this series we are asking a very simple question: Does a follower of Jesus have the right to be offended? For context, the word offended carries with it the idea of being led into sin. A person is so bothered by what …
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Too Tired To Help
One of the keys to a faithful ministry is understanding spiritual fatigue. This is a very personal matter because everyone has different energy levels and everyone is exhausted by different things. One person might find preaching exhausting while another finds hospital visitation while another finds leadership. We are all different but we are all the …
No Offense
We are starting a new series on Sunday. I love new series. It might be that I am a bit ADHD as a leader, but I love developing and preaching new topics and ideas. I get excited for new graphics, videos, and stage design. I love new series. I am especially excited for this No …
So Sensitive
For centuries certain occupations like pastors, preachers, journalists, and politicians, have been required to share thoughts, opinions, and beliefs in the public square. For centuries people serving in those occupations have been criticized, condemned, and at times killed. The opinion world can be a brutal world. The truth is that any time you share a …
Preaching Easter
Every preacher I know gets a little stressed preaching special holidays like Easter. I used to be be kind of overwhelmed by that stress and have recently developed a few rules that have helped me focus… 1. Tell the story. Never be so cute or creative that you forget to share the actual story of …
Saturday
I wonder what the day after the crucifixion felt like for the early followers of Jesus. I would guess it was a day of sorrow, anxiety, anger, and fear. Little did they know that resurrection and new life were just one day away. Thankfully we get to live life in light of the resurrection. I …
Good Friday
Read Matthew 27 and it hardly seems good. It’s a story of rejection, violence, injustice, and suffering. What could possibly be good about any of that? The story of Good Friday becomes good in two ways: In light of what was accomplished: Through the crucifixion Jesus accomplished His mission. He forgave sin, He made a …
Encourage, Challenge, and Equip 