Author: mattsimonblog

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5) Last week I got the opportunity to talk to around fifty teens about labels. I'm convinced that no one understand being labeled quite like … Continue reading The Labels of This World →

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58) The devil of Monday is in full swing. In ministry, Mondays are extra dastardly because they fall after Sunday which of course is primetime. In Mondays we find … Continue reading The Devil of Monday →

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2) I have a flare for nostalgia. Events and people in our past always seem more special … Continue reading Looking Back →

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away … Continue reading Don’t Make Noise →

12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you. (Ezekiel 11:12) During the last year, this idea has been tested. With a contentious election and civil unrest, Christ followers have questioned … Continue reading Grace For the Bruised →

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box,2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” … Continue reading Faith of a Middle Schooler →

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, … Continue reading The “Meh” Crowd →

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,     when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth     and boast of the abundance of their riches? (Psalm 49:5-6) Fear and idolatry go hand in hand. The more we rely on the fleeting things of this world, the more we set ourselves … Continue reading The Golden Monkey We Worship →

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches … Continue reading A New Birth Certificate →

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I … Continue reading Grace in a Water Park →