Sterling Griggs

Abut a year and a half ago my wife and kids convinced me that we needed a dog for a pet. For years I had fought against that notion because, quite frankly, with 4 kids I didn't think we needed a pet. We changed enough diapers and cleaned up enough messes as it is. A dog in the mix would just make our already chaotic life more hectic. But they were persuasive and even a bit pitiful in their lobbying efforts and so Bella the (mostly) chocolate Lab is now our family dog. Why do kids want pets so badly? We all know that if you get your child a pet then the bulk of the care and maintenance for that pet will fall on you, not your children. Their initial fervor to feed and groom and walk the dog will fizzle away over time and suddenly the kids' dog becomes the parents' responsibility. We as people want pets because we long for something to place our affection and attention upon. Their is joy in taking care of an animal, of having another life dependent upon you. And truth be tol...

"He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Without a doubt this verse is one of the most meaningful verses in the entire the Bible to me. It's not that it's the "best" verse (if there is such a thing) or the most theologically loaded, but in these 25 words we find the entirety of the beauty and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It all starts with God. He is the He in the He made . It was God's idea from the very beginning to rescue a broken and fallen world through the cross of Christ. God knew that we would fall short and sin against Him, effectively alienating ourselves from Him, the giver and sustainer and reason for life. Yet His plan all along was to reconcile us to Himself through Jesus. The One who did not know sin . That sinless One is Jesus. The God man. Fully God, fully man, yet without any sin in Him. Not once did He lie, cheat, steal, speak u...

"Freedom isn't free." I've seen that phrase many times on car bumper stickers and t-shirts and I totally get the meaning behind it. In order for us to fully understand the freedom that we enjoy as American citizens we must also understand the incredible sacrifice given by many men and women over the years to ensure that we keep those freedoms. Whether you are a military buff or a pacifist, you can't ignore the fact that you wouldn't be where you are today without the blood and sweat of our military. The kingdom of God operates by a similar principle yet the sacrifice given was one that we could never hope to offer for ourselves. When Jesus offered up His life on the cross, His death not only conquered sin and death but it truly set us free to live for God in ways that we could never imagine. If you are a follower of Christ, you now live not by some standard of works that you hope might gain you access to God but rather you live in the reality of God's pr...

Preacher's kids get a bum rap, don't they? There has long been this notion that the wildest kids in the church are the ones who have no choice but to be there every time the doors are open. The movie To Save a Life illustrates this perfectly - the preacher's kid is the one who smokes the most dope, tells the most lies, and gets into the most trouble. Personally, I don't think that this stigma is fair at all. Preacher's kids aren't always the worst ones in church. In truth, there are plenty of others in church who can just as easily lead others astray. Before I go any further, please don't read this and think that I am trying to cast dispersions again the church that Jesus died to redeem. Yet it cannot be ignored that just because the label "Christian" is branded to your forehead it doesn't mean that your life will radiate brilliant life for Christ. Before my wife knew the Lord she was a waitress trying to earn a little money while in her fir...

A while ago I heard about a local church that had an interesting sermon topic for their morning worship service: Dental Hygiene. No lie, that was the message. Now please understand that this "church" was really just a gathering of people who believed that there was no such thing as absolute truth and that everyone eventually went to heaven, so what better topic to discuss than how to take care of your teeth? After all, listening to a sermon from the Bible would make no sense if you believed that all religions and beliefs systems were equal and valid. I was not raised in a church like that. I can remember passionate sermons from the Bible delivered by pastors who greatly influenced my spiritual formation. As I have grown older and responded to God's call to full time ministry I have made it my goal to study God's word carefully so that, whenever I was called upon to preach, I would be able to preach using the Bible as my authority and not someone or something else. ...