John is, for sure, a different sort of gospel: both in tone and content. You can tell from the first chapter (where John launches into a breathtaking, poetic prologue that starts before creation and previews the incarnation, rejection, mission, and triumph of Jesus) that this is going to be something distinctive…

Well, it depends on who you ask.

If you ask friends from school or your soccer team, you may get a variety of answers. Some will say people are born that way and have no control over it. Others may answer that everyone deserves to love whoever they choose.

What we know for sure is that words are not intrinsically evil. There are no combinations of sounds that are automatically sinful. Words are vehicles for information and attitudes, and you and I both know those can be sinful! The point is that there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to swearing, and you’re going to have to use discernment…

Based on my experiences working and living in secular environments over the past decade or so, here is a framework that I have found helpful!

It’s pretty obvious that gardens are a big deal to God. You can’t get very far in reading the Bible without coming across some kind of garden or a metaphor regarding trees, plants or seeds. In fact, the Bible begins and ends in a garden…

When talking with an unbeliever, it’s very important to maintain an attitude of kindness and grace. If the person gets angry, you potentially lose your opportunity to share the gospel.