Category: Spiritual
As a high school student, I was not the best in my English classes. That struggle continued with me all the way into my freshman classes in college. My struggle has many elements. English was essentially my third language as I was raised speaking Dutch and grew up in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood in southern California. […]
Tags: bible, easter, isaiah, resurrection, scripture
by Cierra Cooke
“On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.” Ezekiel 20:6 For the past seven months, the Forge Class of 2014 has been […]
Tags: discipleship program, forge, international, israel, lessons, trip
Fallow is not a word that most people have ever used in a conversation (unless you’re a farmer). So if you don’t know, “fallow ground” is land that has sat unused and become hard and full of weeds. It must be broken up and prepared before it can be useful and planted with seeds. The […]
Tags: bible, bible study, jesus, lessons, summer, summer prep, theme
by Pat Preston
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light […]
Tags: bible, bible study, jesus, lessons, summer, summer prep
by Matt Edwards
Over the last several years, the resident staff of Pine Cove have been pursuing the idea that God is deeply engaged with His people that pray. He desires a deep and personal relationship with his children. An active prayer life is one of the ways that we can enjoy him more fully. He has taught […]
Tags: faith, goals, ministry, prayer, resident staff, staff
A condition that plagues many Christians today – both young and old – is what I call Thomasphobia: the fear of doubting. This malady often begins in elementary Sunday school class when the Easter story is told and children hear about Doubting Thomas. Wide-eyed children are asked, “Can you believe Thomas doubted that Jesus rose […]
Tags: bible, bible study, faith, gospel, jesus, lessons, scripture
Last week, my fellow Forge students and I took a 9-day adventure to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The Forge is Pine Cove’s resident discipleship program. There we joined alongside a ministry called Students International (SI) to assist local missionaries at various sites that included microfinance, social work, community health, dentistry, education, special education, sports, and physical therapy. After a long […]
Tags: bible, forge, gospel, international, lessons, ministry, story
For a majority of Christian families, one of the first songs their children learn is Jesus Loves Me, and the wonderful news of this love is based on the words that follow: “for the Bible tells me so.” The truth is, our beliefs are built on what we find in Scripture, which is why critics […]
Tags: bible, faith, scripture, truth
What would you say if I asked you to identify your magnum opus? Would you point somewhere between your inferior vena cava and your superior colliculus? Of course, a magnum opus is not an anatomical term. It simply means “great work” in Latin. An artist’s magnum opus may be their most valuable piece of art. […]
Tags: father, gospel, legacy, parent, Pine Cove weekend, relationships
At family camp, adults get to enjoy teaching on parenting, marriage, and the Christian life by excellent Christian speakers. One week, our speaker shared the concept of leaving your mother and father, cleaving to your spouse, and receiving them as a gift from God. The speaker shared the “power” of accepting this realization and the commitment […]
Tags: bible, family camp, lessons, marriage, parenting, relationships, story