Nazarene Caffeine

 In early 2019, I had the opportunity to attend a conference called M19 that was put on by my denomination. The conference was about what you would expect from the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination out there. There were plenary sessions with some amazing speakers, and, of course, there were breakout sessions. The way that the breakout sessions worked is that several different sessions would be going at the same time, and you would choose one to attend. It was one of these breakout sessions that serves as the inspiration for this post. I entered a medium-sized room where other individuals were already seated, waiting for one of the sessions to start. It was a theologically-oriented panel discussion, although I do not remember what the topic was. I remember expecting some good discussion, however. Near the end of the session, they opened the floor to questions and answers. One pastor stood up and said, "There are some in my congregation who have become involved in apologetics,

 We live in an age of smartphones, tablets, and smart watches. There are a ton of apps available for each of these. Some are good, and others are not so good. In this post, I am going to collect some of the best Christian apps that I know about to help you grow deeper in your walk with Christ. In order to make this list, three criteria must be met: 1.) It must be a Christian app. 2.) It must be beneficial for spiritual growth. 3.) It must stand out in terms of what it is capable of doing. I am not going to recommend apps that do not come from sources that I personally trust, nor am I going to recommend apps that have no practical value in terms of growing in the faith. This list may be updated from time to time. Audio And Video Apps Dwell Dwell  is an amazing app that allows you to listen to any part of the Bible, at any time. It is essentially an audio Bible on steroids. You can choose to listen to a book, a chapter, several chapters, or a single verse. In addition, you can choose to

  As many of you know, I one of my spiritual ancestors is John Wesley. I think that some of his writings would be incredibly beneficial for many today. The following sermon is one of them. On June 18, 1738, John Wesley preached his sermon, "Salvation By Faith," based on the text of Ephesians 2:8. His words remind us of a basic and important truth of the Christian faith: 1. ALL the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man, are of his mere grace, bounty, or favour; his free, undeserved favour; favour altogether undeserved; man having no claim to the least of his mercies. It was free grace that “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him a living soul,” and stamped on that soul the image of God, and “put all things under his feet.” The same free grace continues to us, at this day, life, and breath, and all things. For there is nothing we are, or have, or do, which can deserve the least thing at God’s hand. “All our works, thou, O God! hast wrought in us.” Thes

  In my 10 years of blogging, I have never really taken the time to give my testimony publicly on my websites. I have just never seen my own testimony as something that was very extravagant. It definitely was not a "The Cross and the Switchblade" type of story. I also suppose I have always just been focused on other projects that I never really cared to share my story. That is why I am sharing it in this post. I hope and pray that my experience of how God has changed my life will encourage you, as well. My story began when I was a child. My grandfather was a United Methodist pastor, and he had always been a positive example in my life. He always pastored smaller congregations, and with this came a close-knit community. I remember going to church when I was a younger child, although not always to my grandfather's church. My mom and dad divorced before I was 2 years old, and my dad had custody of me for many weekends. I would go to church with my dad's side of the famil

  It's official! This blog is over one year old. In this past year, we have accomplished some amazing (to me) feats. I will cover some of these in this blog post. However, as  I reflect on what has been done here at Nazarene Caffeine, I can't help but wonder if someone else might be feeling the call on their lives to do something for the Kingdom of God. Perhaps someone has felt that way, and has not quite figured out what to do. If this is you, can I encourage you to start a Christian blog? I am being entirely serious when I say this. I think that Christian bloggers, podcasters, and video creators have an amazing opportunity to reach out to people with the message of the Gospel. Let me tell you why blogging is a great first step in reaching the online world. First, a blog is really simple to keep up, if you choose the right place. At Nazarene Caffeine, I am currently using Blogger . It is fairly simple to use, and I have become very familiar with it over the years. Other option

  This post is predominately for the pastors out there, although this may be applicable to Sunday School teachers, other Church leaders, or those who just want to go deeper in their study of the Bible, but just don't have enough money to purchase a large number of resources. If you fall into one of these categories, you don't have to spend a ton of money to accomplish these goals. In fact, there is a way to utilize free resources online, including free commentaries, from BibleGateway If you have been doing online Bible studies for any length of time, you have probably heard of BibleGateway. It is an amazing online collection of (almost) every Bible translation out there. It allows you to compare translations and do many other wonderful things that are necessary for good sermon/lesson prep. However, you are able to do more than just compare translations. One of the most amazing things about BibleGateway is that is offers free resources, including commentaries and study Bible not