Posts by Chip Ingram
Does God Use Some People More Than Others?
Ever wonder why God seems to use some people more than others? Maybe you think it’s because God only does amazing things through really “holy” and “righteous” people. Perhaps you think, “I’m not smart enough, or I’m not bold enough, or I’m not courageous enough, or I don’t know the Bible well enough!” The truth…
Read MoreGod’s Number One Goal for Your Life
I vividly remember one night back when I was in grad school. It was 5:30 p.m. and a bunch of college students were scheduled to come over at a 7 p.m. to hear me speak. The problem was I didn’t know what I was going to say. My mind was blank! And I was terrified!…
Read MoreGod’s Prescription for a Lasting Relationship
If you spend any time checking out self-help books, clicking through television channels or perusing the magazine aisle at the grocery store, you know our world is overrun with advice on how to catch a mate and keep the relationship going strong. We are all desperately searching for a love that will last. And truthfully,…
Read MoreWhy the Environment Matters to God
There are few topics that cause as much controversy and polarizing opinions as the environment. When someone asks what you think of the environment and the issues surrounding it, sometimes it just feels easier to avoid the conversation altogether. But as awkward and difficult as it is, followers of Jesus Christ need to think, act,…
Read MoreIs God Out of Touch When It Comes to Sex?
I think many people – even Christians – think that God is totally out of touch with today’s culture and people’s needs and that’s why He prohibits all sex outside of marriage. I know I did. I came to Christ after my senior year in high school. Then I went away to a college where…
Read MoreWhat’s the Role of the Church When It Comes to Politics?
Ever wonder what role the church is supposed to play in politics? For example, what – if anything – should pastors say about politics from the pulpit, all over America and all around the world? Does the Bible tell us how to vote? Here’s what the Bible says: Let the Church be the Church. The…
Read MoreIs It Our Job to Judge Others?
“Who are you to judge me when you have sinned too?” “Who is anyone to tell me how to live?” Sound familiar? This attitude is pervasive in our culture. And it has led to one of the greatest myths inside the Church: we are not to judge one another. As a result, for over two…
Read MoreWhat Ever Happened to Right and Wrong?
Have you ever wondered whatever happened to right and wrong? I believe the real question behind what is right and what is wrong is: “What is true?” If you can’t define what’s true, then you can’t determine the difference between right and wrong. For thousands of years, most people believed that telling the truth, not…
Read MoreAre You Looking through the Wrong End of the Binoculars?
Seeing a friend suffer is hard, but sometimes that suffering gives us a new perspective. I remember when one of my closest friends lost his son and asked me to do his memorial service. After years of being clean after rehab and coming to know Christ, my friend’s 30-year-old son had one of those really low,…
Read MoreThankfulness Beyond Thanksgiving
Today will be filled with final grocery store runs, road trips to family gatherings, and time to reconnect around the table. And hopefully in the midst of it all, there will be a time to pause and share what we’re thankful for. But the importance of giving thanks goes beyond Thanksgiving Day. Why is it…
Read MoreUnderstanding Grace Changes Everything
Grace. It’s the single most important word in all of the New Testament – actually, in all of the Bible. The Apostle Paul would say of his entire life: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all…
Read More3 Essential Elements for Effective Prayers
Ever feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the walls? Maybe you’ve been asking God for something – wisdom for a problem, resolution for a situation at work, or for a child to come back to the Lord – and it’s been several weeks or months and nothing’s changed. You’ve even claimed the line…
Read MoreIs God Really in Control?
How can we possibly explain Christians who… Forgive ISIS as they’re about to be beheaded Exude joy in the midst of life confined in a wheelchair Trust again after their mate has been sexually unfaithful March into the Coliseum in ancient Rome singing praises to Christ for the privilege to suffer Someone has wisely stated…
Read MoreHow to Share Your Testimony
Do you struggle with sharing Christ with others? Does the thought of leading someone to Christ make you feel intimidated, overwhelmed, or just plain inadequate? If so, I’d like to offer you some encouragement. Sharing Christ doesn’t require you to be a Christian superstar or a theologian. It just requires that you share your story in…
Read More“To-Do” List or “To-Be” List?
When I was in my third year of seminary, I was living life at a crazy pace. I was up at 4 a.m. studying, then I’d go to my full-time job at the church, and then to class. Afterward, I’d go home and try to be a good dad and a good husband, and then…
Read More5 Keys to a Godly Perspective
Ever have one of “those days” when everything just seems to be going wrong? You get up in the morning still tired from a less-than-perfect-night’s sleep and you turn on the news only to hear one catastrophe after another. You’re also running late for work, and when you grab your phone, you realize that you forgot to…
Read MoreHope for Single Parents and Blended Families
If you’re a single parent or a parent in a blended family, you represent the majority of families in America. Now, only one out of four families is what we’d call a “traditional family” – a mom and dad with the same biological children. In addition, over forty percent of all babies in the U.S.…
Read MoreHow to Become the Parent God Wants You to Be
For a lot of us, we didn’t have the greatest parents in the world. We come from broken homes. We didn’t have a dad who led the way, who was strong, sensitive, biblical, and who blazed the trail. We didn’t see a loving relationship between our mom and dad. So, if we wanted a model…
Read MoreGod’s Dream for Your Life
Every parent has dreams for their children. When we’re young, immature parents of little kids, our dreams go something like, “I hope he’s a baseball player” or “I hope she’s musical” or “it’d be great if she’s athletic or artistic.” And then, as we get a little bit older, our dreams for our kids shift…
Read MoreWhy We Should Trust in the Wisdom of God
You’ve experienced pain you brought on yourself. We all have. You made decisions that hurt others, hurt yourself, offended God, and the guilt you felt caused you to repent. This is not the same. No, the struggle you’re in now was not brought on by any sin in your life. This feels unfair. If you were…
Read MoreFour Ways God Encourages Us
Are you going through a difficult or painful circumstance? If you are, you’re not alone. Life is hard for so many right now. Recently, I’ve been reminded about the importance of encouragement—particularly spiritual. The very definition of encourage is: to infuse with faith, perspective, and hope that fuels the daily need for courage. We all need…
Read MoreIs It Possible to Be Certain of God’s Will?
As a pastor, I am often presented with tough questions, and the truth is that some questions don’t have easy answers. Life is complicated, and as such, decision-making can seem challenging. That was the basis for the following question I just received from someone enduring a difficult season: “When making decisions, how can we have…
Read MoreWhen Our Worst Times Are God’s Best
I can still remember it so clearly. I was a young pastor at a church in Santa Cruz, CA, and I was under some incredible pressure. The church was growing. We were in the middle of a capital campaign, and I had no idea what I was doing. So, one Sunday afternoon, I went to…
Read MoreAre You on Satan’s Agenda?
God has an agenda for every nation on this planet, for every man, woman, and child. It’s an agenda of unstoppable grace, of compassion, and love, and restoration. But did you know that Satan also has an agenda for this planet – including you? Jesus defined these two competing agendas in one verse when He…
Read MoreHow to Share Your Faith with Boldness
Sadly, around nine out of ten Christians who are legitimate followers of Christ have never verbally shared the gospel with another person. We are the possessors and stewards of eternal life yet most of us have never shared with someone at work, in our family, or in our neighborhood how we received this eternal life.…
Read MoreHow Do You Fit in God’s Plan?
Throughout Scripture, from Genesis 3 all the way through to Revelation 20, we see God pouring out His grace. From the very first moment when He clothed our parents after sin entered the world, God began this unstoppable tsunami wave of grace that wants to redeem, to reconcile, to forgive and to atone. God’s wave…
Read MoreThe Secret to Having an Extraordinary Life
Most of us spend much of our life telling ourselves, “I can’t do that because I’m not smart enough,” or “I don’t have the training,” or “I’m not bold enough” or “I’m not courageous enough,” or “I don’t know the Bible well enough…” The list goes on and on. What we tend to forget is…
Read MoreWhat If Breakthrough Was Your ‘New Normal’?
Many of us faithfully pray to an all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing God who says, “Nothing is too difficult for Me” and who told His disciples, “I expect you to do the impossible, like feed 5,000 people.” Yet we assume that the same God doesn’t want to continue to do the impossible through us in our lives.…
Read MoreHas Happiness Become an Idol?
When we look in the Old Testament and read how easily the Israelites were seduced into idol worship, it’s easy for us to judge. I’ve never come home after a long day of work and said to my wife, “Honey, just stay right here. I put a little statue in the back room, and now…
Read MoreWhat Keeps Us from Telling Others about Christ?
Think of the last time you couldn’t wait to tell someone some great news. Maybe you just got the job you were hoping for. Or your daughter-in-law is expecting. Or maybe your favorite team finally reached the playoffs. You just had to talk about it, right? We tell others things that matter to us, don’t…
Read MoreSix Steps to Successful Single Parenting
Single parenting is an incredibly difficult job. If you’re a single parent (or know of one) and you’re faced with pain and consequences that are overwhelming, consider these six steps of faith.
Read MoreWhy Is Thanksgiving in Prayer So Important?
Discover how powerful thanksgiving can be in your prayer life and why it’s a great perspective changer.
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