“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or
One of the most common heart cries of children and teens I work with is their desire to spend quality time with their parents. We as parents do not always do this perfectly. But if we can be present with our children on their terms, even for five or 10 minutes a day, they will
Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those
Beliefs are powerful. What you believe about yourself, others, and the world around you, dictates how respond and react to situations. How you respond and react to situations says a lot about you and your character. Innately, most of us know this by now. The problem is most people do not take a moment to pause and recognize
And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff – no bread, no bag, no money in their belt – but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do
We are fast approaching both the three-year mark of the corona virus pandemic and the one-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the span of that same year, we’ve seen inflation hit its highest level in 40 years, political turmoil bordering on anarchy, and nearly 650 mass shootings (shootings involving more than 4
Dear Worshipper: Based on our continued growth, last week, I informed you of our need to start a third service. Yet, after further discussion with the elders, it is now our collective decision to take incremental steps toward a third service by simply adding fifteen minutes to the start time for the second service. With
December 2022 Dear Burke Community Church Family, As 2022 comes to a close and 2023 stands at the door, the Elders would like to wish you a Happy New Year and thank you for being part of life at Burke Community Church. 2022 gave us many more stones to add to our memorial to remember what God
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalms 107:1 GRATITUDE TURNS WHAT WE HAVE INTO ENOUGH (UNKNOWN) The last thing anyone wants to be told when they are suffering is to “be grateful.” This comment can feel trite to those experiencing loss, financial struggles, grief, relationship distress, or many
In this series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. In this, our final, post, we’ll explore why our ability to explain and defend the gospel is so critical to our witness. St. Francis of Assisi is
Why Clear and Consistent Boundaries are Good for Children ‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6 A group of landscape architects conducted a study in the early 2000s to determine what impact a fence might have on children’s behavior at a playground. In the
In this series, we are looking what it means to live a life on mission for God. Or, put another way, to practice what I call whole-life evangelism. In this post, we’ll explore why our love, expressed in action and empathy, is such an important part of our witnessing Christ. Last week, I had the
