Coronavirus Updates
The Doors to LifeWay Church: An Update
An Update on LifeWay’s Services — Summer 2021 When we went into government-called lockdown in March 2020 (15 months ago!), we were not only in shock a good bit, but like everyone else, we never dreamed this would go on like it has. Within a short time, we created a phrase and a plan, “3 Doors to LifeWay Church,” that helped us all understand how to stay connected both to worship and to the rest of the church family. We…
Give Thanks? How?
Give thanks???? How? In the middle of this world mess? One of the famous true stories that emerged out of the World War II years is of Corrie Ten Boom. Some of you have been inspired by her most famous biographical book, The Hiding Place, or by the movie of the same title. For those who are not familiar, let me give you a highly condensed overview. Corrie Ten Boom’s parents were dedicated Christ followers in the Netherlands when Germany…
One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus
I know by now you have all heard of our state government’s recent shutdown of indoor restaurants, workout centers, and public gatherings as we move closer to the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This, of course, concerns me for the sake of the many local businesses and the families it affects. I am certainly concerned as well about the spread of COVID-19 and increasing infections. But I am here to address what this means for us here at LifeWay Church, and…
We Got This!
What a world we live in! As we all know, it is summer, and it’s pretty normal for summer to feel weird and different as people are traveling and heading out on vacation. Students are generally slowing down and sleeping in and staying up late. Summer is usually filled with bike rides, hikes, video games, late nights with the bonfires, and family time. This summer is obviously different. The news of our local schools staying closed for the start of…
Loneliness
Former surgeon general Vivek Murthy is so concerned about the physical and psychological effects of loneliness that he has written a book to counter the effects in society. According to his research and personal experience, loneliness can increase instances of heart disease, depression, dementia, anxiety, and a host of other conditions (not that we need anything else to worry about!?). Apparently, loneliness is a global issue, causing the United Kingdom to even appoint a loneliness minister. Tracey Crouch, the first to…
An Unexpected Gift
Come back with me to the first of January. Do you remember what life was like? Remember we had to sit in heavy traffic to get to work? We had to jump from meetings to more meetings. We had to take our children to their soccer games. We had to take them to ballet lessons. We had to rush through meals. We had to pick up dry cleaning. If we are honest, we knew our busy lives were on autopilot,…
Know Which is Which
The secret is out. Americans love to take control. No, we have a deep, deep need for control, don’t we? We need to control this, control that. We need to control our schedule. We need to control how the app icons line up on our phone screens. And if we are honest, we need to control what others think of us. We need to take control over everything and anything that happens in our lives. We stress when we don’t.…
Where is Jesus in the Pandemic?
You guys, I had the worst dream—the whole world was consumed with a viral pandemic. Oh wait, that was not a dream. It’s really happening. When everything started to shut down and the numbers started to climb, my fear began to grow. I wondered, “Who of my friends or family will suffer?” The fear that I could be infected and not even know it was unbearable. Could I have given it to that nice old man in the grocery store,…
What Just Happened?
I find myself asking that question a lot these days. Do you? Do you ever think, “What in the world is going on?” I find today’s environment quite surreal. In many ways, it’s quite a pleasure having some real down time—time with my family, time in the Word, actually even a bit of time to work out now and then! But it can also be a bit scary—especially as we start to think about what the future looks like. A couple of Sundays ago, Billy…
Contentment in Crisis
Last Friday morning’s headlines said it all. A stunning 20.5 million jobs lost in April, the worst month since the government began tracking the data in 1939. The unemployment rate stands at 14.7%, the highest on record since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began its monthly series, and climbing. An unimaginably high number of Americans have lost jobs. More stand to lose jobs. Maybe you are someone, or you know someone, who has lost a job or is about to…
An Invitation to the Holy of Holies
What is duty of care? Those in my life that I am responsible for. What is prayer? An invitation into the special place where I communicate with Almighty God regarding those in my life that I am responsible for. Have you ever had an invitation to attend an exclusive grand event? An invitation to the Governor’s mansion? The White House? The home of a powerful person? If I ever received an invitation like this, I would frame it and hang…
Billy’s Update — May 7, 2020
Welcome to May and Mother’s Day weekend! At LifeWay Church this coming Mother’s Day Sunday, our service will feature some ways for us to recognize this wonderful day, and to enjoy the blooming of spring as well. The flowers are definitely coming out; the weather is certainly cooperating. The only drawback is the “social distancing” that we are still having to live under. So we are online again. On Sunday, I am beginning a short series of sermons out of…
Keep Doing the Good
Now that we’re a few weeks into the Corona Quarantine (or Big Rona, as some of the youth like to say), I imagine that you, both parent and teen, have been struggling with patience. Close quarters, the fear of the unknown, frustrations about schedule and school, and all of the Zoom calls that everyone is doing has definitely helped to test our patience and our ability to hold onto joy in the midst of trials. So I want to offer…
Billy’s Update — April 30, 2020
Church in the Lobby Do you know how, at the end of a Sunday morning when you’d leave the church service (can you remember those days?), you’d stop for a while to hang out and visit with people you know, meet some new faces, and just be social? Those were the good ol’ days, weren’t they? In the current world of having everything streamed into our living rooms, we wonder when we’re ever going to get to do that again!…
When Will We Get Back to Normal?
We have now been in this new COVID reality world for more than a month now, and all of us are asking the same thing about our family, our business, our shopping, our school, our stock market, sports, social interaction, and church life: When will we get back to normal? The way I see it from here is that the question really should be, What will a new normal look like? There is no way that any of us can…
LifeWay Youth – April 23, 2020
Hey, parents! Are you wondering how you’re supposed to keep your student busy during this crazy time?! Well, we have a few things planned to help with that this week! Daily Zoom Calls Daily 2 p.m. Zoom calls are happening on Wednesday and Friday this week. We want to dial it back for this week to give the students a little break. Weekly Youth Group Live Streams For our Thursday youth group, we’d love to hear your feedback on what time…
Consistent, Fervent Prayer
I will admit that I am not the prayer warrior that I wish I was. I’m not really great at praying consistently, persistently, and with a great deal of faith. And yet all of these things are descriptions that the Bible uses to describe the way followers of Jesus should approach prayer. In Luke 18, Jesus describes the need for persistent prayer with a story about a widow and an unrighteous judge. In Mark 11, he says that whatever the…
When Are We Coming Back?
When do we come back to the church building? Are you asking that question yet? Well, if you are asking, here’s the answer: We just don’t know! But there are some things that we do know for sure, no matter what. We are learning a great deal about ministry with COVID-19. The following is a short list of some things we are continuing in these shut-down days, some of which we will continue after life opens up. NOW: We…
LifeWay Youth – April 14, 2020
Hey Parents! Are you feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, not knowing what to do with your youth? Need some extra resources to help? Check out what’s going on with LifeWay Youth! Daily Zoom Calls Daily 2 p.m. Zoom calls are happening Monday through Friday as a way for your student to stay connected with others in our youth ministry as well as have fun. We are doing daily devotionals, we have been playing games, and we’ve given away prizes every…
This Week in KidVenture – April 14, 2020
Happy Tuesday, KidVenture Kids and families! This Week In KidVenture I hope you all had a great Holy Week and Easter weekend! I love spending time remembering the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us. If Jesus hadn’t gone to the cross, we could never go to Heaven! This week, we will spend a little more time looking at pieces of the Easter Story in Matthew 26-28 that show us that Jesus really is the savior who took the punishment for our sins.…
A Study of Romans 8
On Easter Sunday we launched a series of messages that we are calling Epic. I used the illustration of an epic journey, such as David Livingstone’s exploration of the middle of Africa, or Lewis and Clark’s trek across western North America. These epic journeys reshaped the future for millions to follow. To call the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus an epic event is an understatement. Everything has now changed because of what Christ has done. Romans 8 spells this…
Behind the Scenes
Join Heather by video this week as she updates us on ways to engage in God’s mission and reminds us that God is doing exciting things behind the scenes, just as he did during the original Easter weekend. Find out how you can help at and around LifeWay here.
Sunday’s Coming!
It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming! This is a line from a famous sermon that has been passed around for years. But it’s not only a famous sermon—it’s a forever truth. This is Easter week; today is Good Friday, and Easter is this Sunday. I have been carefully reading the story and contemplating Jesus’ last few days of earthly life. This year we’ve been doing nightly Passion Week devotions that have helped us walk through the story. (You can watch them…
KidVenture – Holy Week
Happy Tuesday, KidVenture Kids and families! I hope you are continuing to dig into God’s word this week. Here are a few things to help you do that. This Week In KidVenture This week, we will check out Matthew 21:1-11, the story of Jesus coming triumphantly into Jerusalem. This took place about a week before Easter. In this story we learn that Jesus was fulfilling the words of the prophets of the Old Testament because he truly is the Messiah! Here…
Passion Week: Preparing for Easter
We are now in the middle of a week that reflects the last week of Jesus’ life before his crucifixion and ultimate resurrection on Easter Sunday. I hope you have been able to join in the 7 p.m. devotional readings and reflections on the significance of each particular day. I have celebrated Easter Sunday all my life, but I have never taken the time to contemplate and remember the significance of each day that led up to the cross, the…
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