February 5, 2006 – Who is Jesus?
Scholars have debated it in the hallowed halls of learning; Dan Brown challenges it in his book, ‘The Da Vinci Code’; people have stumbled over it throughout the centuries and around the world: the identity of Jesus. Who was Jesus? A good, moral teacher? Just another spiritual guru? A Jewish revolutionary? A misunderstood mystic? Or was he something more?

February 12, 2006 – The Apprentice
One of the recent television phenomena has been the huge success of The Apprentice, a TV show where people compete for the chance to learn big business from the best: Donald Trump. The goal is to be a disciple that emulates their master. What is Jesus’ purpose for appointing his apprentices? What would it mean for people like us to apprentice under him?

February 19, 2006 – What A Wonderful World!
One of the few things upon which we all agree is that something is wrong with the world. It feels like unfriendly forces are behind the wheel and everything is careening out of control. Things are not as they should be. But what if this was not God’s vision for life? What if this was not as God designed things to be? What if there was a way to put everything right again?

March 5, 2006 – Why God Hates Religianity
More often than not, especially in a post-9/11 world, religion seems to create more problems than the solutions, to the point that many people have official thrown in the religious towel and become “spiritual, but not religious.” As the founder of a new religion, what would Jesus say about the proliferation and promotion of religion in our world? Just how religious was Jesus anyway?

March 12, 2006 – How to be Jesus’ teammate
For all the good Jesus did, it seems like a lot of important people wanted nothing to do with him. His family called him crazy. Powerful, religious people wrote him off and said he was possessed by a demon. If you follow Jesus, people will say worse things about you. With so many against you, how do you keep on keeping on? How do you know you’re doing the right thing?

March 19, 2006 – Things Are Not What They Seem
Jesus came to earth to start something new, to set the world right-side up again. He came promising to win the war on evil and to push back the forces of darkness, to bring healing and peace, and to set people free. So why is it that 2000 years later, the world looks as upside-down as it always did? Why aren’t people buying in? Why don’t things change?

April 2, 2006 – Why Jesus May Not Work For You
Throughout his life, Jesus demonstrated his power to radically alter people’s lives, to heal disease, defeat the enemy and right the wrongs. Yet, throughout Jesus’ life there were always people for whom Jesus ‘didn’t work’, who got nothing from him. Why did some cash in big on Jesus’ ministry and others struck out? How can I make the most of Jesus’ ministry in my life?

April 9, 2006 – Be All That You CAN’T Be!
An apprentice of Jesus’ is called to extend his influence around the world. A follower is a fisher, nothing less. That theory is all well and good, but what happens in the real world? What happens when you just don’t have the resources to do what you want to do? When people all around are resisting you? When you’re called to do things beyond your ability? What then?

April 23, 2006 – It’s What’s Inside That Counts
At the heart of the Christian faith is a relationship with Jesus, changing people to live lives that are acceptable to God. Everyone knows someone whose life they would describe as “Christian”. They attend church, read their Bible, pray, volunteer and give. Yet, is that what Jesus meant by “new life”? How do you measure “spiritual success”? What does it take to be acceptable to God?

May 7, 2006 – How To Live A Hall-of-Fame Life
Whether it is in the lives of friends or family, our kids or our coworkers, we all want to be people who make a difference. We all want to make significant contributions to leaving this planet more like God envisioned it than when we found it. So what do we have to do to make a difference? What kind of people make the greatest contributions to God’s kingdom?

May 14, 2006 – How To Have A Shallow Faith
No one engages in a spiritual journey hoping to get nowhere. No one initiates a relationship with God looking for it to be shallow, empty and meaningless. Yet, according to Jesus, every life of faith lives in the perpetual danger of shallowness, of being undermined despite all the best intentions. How does faith become shallow? How can we avoid a meaningless life with God?

May 21, 2006 – The Inside Track On Spiritual Success
When we look to emulate spiritual people, the individuals whom we feel seem to have an inside track with God, we look for certain attributes. They are often knowledgeable, committed, devout leaders in matters of faith. But is that the best way to identify mature, spiritual people? Is that how God sees things? How does God measure spiritual success?

June 4, 2006 – It’s The End Of The World As We Know It!
The Bible tells us that Jesus’ story does not end at the end of his earthly life. There is another chapter waiting to be written, of his triumphant return to earth. For the last decade, the Left Behind novel series has been the last word on how those final events of history will unfold. But what did Jesus say about his “Second Coming”? And what difference does that make to my life?

June 11, 2006 – Best Laid Plans
Have you ever been deeply disappointed by life, forced to respond to the loss pf a job or a relationship, a relapse into disease or addiction, the grief of a loved one or an empty womb? The day Jesus was arrested he courageously faced his circumstances, while his disciples beat a cowardly retreat. What made the difference? Why was he so strong, while they were so weak?

June 18, 2006 – Flatliners
Throughout his book, Mark has portrayed Jesus as working to bring the kingdom of God and to make the world a better place, by inspiring teaching, miraculous healings and even raising the dead. Yet, in the last chapters of Mark Jesus truly demonstrates the kind of life that makes a difference. How can we become the kind of people who truly make the world a better place?

June 25, 2006 – The Worst Ending Ever!
It is the greatest story ever told. Just as he predicted on several occasions, Jesus, having been publicly humiliated, abused and tortured to death, is discovered three days later to be alive and well! According to later Christian writers, it is the moment that changes everything, but what real difference does it make? If the Jesus story is really true, how should it change my life?