Author: Jesse Pirkle

Speaking the Truth Within Community

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Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. – Ephesians 4:14-16, emphasis added One common issue our counselees express in Biblical counseling is the feeling of being stuck spiritually. These believers usually read their Bibles at least occasionally outside of Sunday morning and spend time in prayer, but still feel as if they are not growing. I have been in that place, and so have many of my friends and family members. Often times, the underlying problem is a lack of biblical …

Love Your Neighbors And Your Enemies

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The biblical command to love your enemies is likely one of the most difficult commands to follow in the Bible. Personally, I am tempted to just ignore my enemies. Whether it be someone I disagree with, who has wronged me, who has threatened me, or something else, I am really good at ignoring that person. I just pretend like that person doesn’t exist. If you don’t ignore your enemies, maybe you struggle with the tendency to want to hurt your enemy in return. Maybe you gossip about them. Or maybe you go out of your way to make their life miserable. Perhaps you make sure they do not get that job by digging up dirt about them. Whether you struggle with ignoring your enemies or are out to get them, we are disobeying Christ. Of course, Jesus knows that it is “normal” to hate an enemy. He says: You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In …

God Hears and Responds to Your Distress

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Jonah prayed. Before we look at some of the aspects of his prayer, let it sink in that he prayed. In chapter one, we learn that Jonah tried to flee from the Lord’s presence by boarding a boat to Tarsus. In response, the Lord caused a mighty storm. The storm ceases once the pagans on the ship cry out to the Lord and throw Jonah into the sea. The Lord appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah. “Then Jonah prayed” (Jonah 2:1). I remember hearing this story when I was a child and I was always thought that the Lord was punishing Jonah by appointing the fish. But when we examine Jonah’s prayer, we see that’s not what Jonah thought! I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! – Jonah 2:6 Jonah was going to die if not for the fish. The fish was not an instrument of punishment; the fish was an …

A Different Style of Authentic Counseling

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Southern Hills is a church committed to following the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20). One of the many ways we seek to fulfill this in and through our church is our Biblical counseling ministry, known as Soul Care. If you are wondering what makes Soul Care unique from other counseling services, I would like to offer three elements that guide what we do in Soul Care. Although these are not the only elements, they are driving every part of our ministry. Soul Care is Christ-centered. Every drop of counsel that we give is to be focused on Christ and His work. Ultimately, our goal is for all people to love Him more than anything else (see Matthew 22:37-40). And how do we believe this is accomplished? In our sessions we want to learn about Christ and develop a greater understanding of what He has done.  As Shannon said on Easter Sunday, our theology is not meant to puff us up. What we learn about Christ, as well as seeing what He has done, should always humble us. If …

You Were Made to Reflect God, to be His Image-bearer

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Why do we exist? What is the meaning of life? Questions like these have sparked many conversations throughout human history. Ideologies that spring from such questions are rampant. I imagine that even members of the same family may have different answers regarding human purpose. I believe that our answer to these questions will determine the trajectory of our lives. According to the Westminster Catechism, the chief end of man is, “to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” The catechism goes on to say that God directs us toward this path by the Scriptures. Glorifying God is not a cold, God-distant act. It involves the outpouring of our hearts to God, for God, and because of God. After all, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind. We should not think about glorifying God simply as following a list of do’s and don’ts. In Jeremiah 32, the LORD starts to give Jeremiah some insight into the New Covenant, the covenant He was going to make with us, …

Godly Principles Are Powerless Apart From God

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The critical question for our generation- and for every generation- is this: if you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? – John Piper Sunday, Shannon taught on Ephesians 4:17-5:20.  As Shannon said, we cannot read these verses without first remembering what Paul already said in the first three chapters. That is, if we try in our own power to keep the commandments listed here in chapters 4 and 5 but fail to love the Lord with all of our hearts, we will have gained nothing.  If my heart’s single greatest affection is not Jesus Christ, I must repent. Before I can do what God says, I must love what God loves and desire Him. In Ephesians 1 we …

Can People Tell You Have Been With Jesus?

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In the beginning of Acts 4, we can see that the temple guard and the Sadducees were greatly disturbed due to the fact that the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. I can always remember who the Sadducees were by a little trick I learned from a book: “The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection and thus they were sad, you see?” In fact, they were so disturbed by this teaching that they put Peter and John in jail until the next day. On the next day, they begin to question Peter and John, “By what power or what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7). In this question, the Sadducees are referring to Peter’s healing of a lame beggar in chapter 3. Peter goes on to answer them, saying: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” – Acts 4:10-11 …

Are You Meditating on the Scriptures?

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Psalm 119 if full of verses that show people delighting in God’s words. I remember reading this as a teenager and the idea seemed somewhat foreign to me. Somewhere in my thinking, I had come to the conclusion that we can be joyful because of God, but I was missing out on delighting in God and in His word. I believed that one day I would be with God, but until then I should just do what He says to do and meander through life. That kind of theology was setting me up for a dispassionate, distant relationship with God, His Word, and the church. Now I am convinced that whatever god I thought I believed in then, it definitely wasn’t the God of the Bible. God not only initiates a relationship with us, He sustains that relationship for eternity. We are not disconnected from the God of our salvation on this earth, waiting for Heaven to “be with Him.” Instead, we are intimately and passionately in a relationship with Him now and forever. Unfortunately, …

Are You United in Thought and Purpose?

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One of the clearest ways that the church looks separate from the world is through unity. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul says, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” It is worth noting that Paul does not base this statement on his authority as an apostle. Instead, he appeals to them “by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In this short verse, Paul instructs the Corinthians to:  agree in all matters concerning the doctrines of the gospel maintain a tender love for one another not form groups as a consequence of disagreement Anyone could look around at the global church and see that we have messed this up. Evaluating my own life based on this verse, I asked myself: Am I leaving people out? Do I intentionally avoid specific or certain kinds of people? Who have I not maintained a tender …

Is This Really For My Good?

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On July 13th, 2014, I got engaged to Kyndel. That was a great day. I can still remember popping the question and having a day full of smiles and laughter as we thought about our future together. It is unforgettable. I immediately began alerting my family members of the good news. They were so excited! Not only were they ready to kick me out of the house, but they loved Kyndel and knew how much she meant to me. I was especially excited to tell my grandfather. He would always joke around saying that he would “dance at my wedding,” and now that day was quickly approaching. However, when I told him the good news, he quickly congratulated me and then proceeded to tell me he was ready to be with the Lord. He finally had peace about his past and shared with me how God had been comforting him. I remember being confused, thinking things like “Isn’t he happy for me? Why does he have to talk about being ready to be with the Lord?” Looking back, …