How God’s great grace blots out our sin.

In Romans 1:28–32, Paul describes most of human history outside of Jesus. From envy and pride to disobedience and evil, we all struggle with these issues in ways large and small. You might be surprised how much. Take a moment of truth and watch the clip above as we walk through each of the items in Paul’s list and ask where we stand. Like me, you might find that you fit the description, too.

Now let me tell you about the truth that sets us free because Jesus loves us. Because of the atonement, through the shedding of his blood, he covers over our sins. He literally blots out our sins, past, present, and future. Because we are unable to forgive ourselves, God says he is going to forgive us. It is his great grace that transforms lives.

Watch the rest of the sermon here.

Song credit: John Mark McMillan, 2005 Integrity's Hosanna! Music, Integrity Music Inc.

Performed by K.J. Scriven & Gregory Cox

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Six keys to being more productive in life and ministry.

Pastors have a lot going on. We have to be present mentally, emotionally, and physically in many circumstances throughout each week. We often have families that are, or should be, a priority. We have responsibilities that pull us in many directions daily.

As the lead pastor for a church as well as a speaker, author, and doctoral student, I’m often asked, “Pastor, what is the key to your productivity?” Here are some principles I like to remember in order to be productive and try to maximize my God-given potential.

1. Know your calling

We are all first called to receive, embrace, and live from the life of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In response to the love of God, through the Holy Spirit’s power, we grow in our love for God.

For me, after that, I am called to love my wife and then my children.

I am called to serve and shepherd Transformation Church.

I am called to influence and encourage other pastors.

I am called to be an author.

I am called to complete a doctorate in the New Testament in context.

The specifics of your calling will differ, but by knowing and stewarding our callings, we can be free of the “tyranny of the urgent.” Once we clearly define our priorities, then if it’s not on that list, we really need to consider if it’s the best use of our time and other resources.

2. Simplify and declutter your life

A lack of productivity in people’s lives is often the result of not knowing our calling and having a cluttered life, filled with activities but not production.

In our 21st-century world, choices are everywhere, and we often clutter our lives with too many options because we are afraid we are going to miss out on something. ...

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Joy is not found in our circumstances.

In Biblical times a person showed sorrow and suffering by putting on sackcloth. In Psalm 30:10–12, David describes how God had removed his sackcloth and exchanged it for joy:

“’Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.’

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever” (NIV).

Joy isn’t rooted in our circumstances. It is rooted in God. Our hearts can sing praises to him even if our mouths cannot.

As Psalm 32:1-2 says, we can have joy because our sins are forgiven. We have joy because at the end of the day God says, “I forgive you.” We can’t determine if God loves us based on good or bad circumstances in our lives. We determine God’s love for us based on the cross and the resurrection.

Joy is found in knowing that our record of guilt has been cleared and that he has fully forgiven us.

“Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,

whose lives are lived in complete honesty!”

(Ps. 32:1-2, NLT).

Watch the rest of the sermon here.

Marinate on that.

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(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed in part, reversed in part. The panel affirmed Los Angeles County was not entitled to 11th Amendment immunity because the County was not an arm of the state when it administered the In-Home Supportive Services program. The court reversed on the collective period’s effective date.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed. The panel held that the district court correctly interpreted the statute to allow for respondeat superior liability, and further held that the district court did not err in admitting the statements of Church leaders under the co-conspirator exception to the rule against hearsay.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Affirmed in part, reversed in part. The complaint did not plausibly allege Plaintiff was placed on the Child Abuse Central Index as retaliation. However, it did plausibly allege that Plaintiff engaged in protected activity and that retaliation was the but-for motive for the social worker’s actions.

Bongo Boy Records' The Corridors Delivers Music To A Powerful Video Series To Make People Aware Of The Need To Improve The Child’s Medical Environment In Taiwan.

The Album Will Be Released On 11th May Via Cherry Red Records Worldwide Excluding Japan Where The Album Is Available Via King Records.

Xia Xia Zhang, Classical Violinist Performs Her Seven Minute,forty-two Second Long Version Of The Franck Violin Sonata By Cesar Franck. It Is One Of His Best-known Compositions, And Is Considered One

Some call out people for not social distancing, others say there's plenty of room.

"When we have lots of folks coming up from the Front Range into the mountains, that flies in the face of everything we're trying to accomplish."

Denver has a slight chance for rain and thunderstorms before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m. Monday but the forecast calls for mostly sunny skies.

The fire never left Josepha Eyre’s belly. She was a woman of endurance.

Jaqueline Paisano, who everyone knew as Jackie, died of COVID-19 complications Monday night, according to George Washington High School Principal Kristin Waters. She would have been 17 next month. She is believed to be one of the youngest people in Colorado to die from the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Greg Zanis, known by many as the “Cross Man,” died Monday after spending 23 years building wooden crosses for thousands of mass-shooting victims across the United States, including the 13 victims killed in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

LAS VEGAS — Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act’s famed white tigers, has died. He was 75. Horn died of complications from the coronavirus on Friday in a Las Vegas hospital, according to a statement […]

Rings Around Saturn Debuts At #3 With Halliday Named As #3 “Top Artist”

The Prolific Singer-Songwriter Says The Song Is “For All The Women Who Boldly And Bravely Speak Their Truth”

The Country Singer From Pittsburgh, PA Has Released The First Single From Her Forthcoming Full Length, Set For Late 2019 Release On MTS Records.

Karen Weed's Assam Skies Brings Together Artists, Musicians And Actors From Around The Globe. The Song Is Set To Release On Sept 25.

Powerful Country Artist Andrea Vasquez Is Continuing To Ride The Sweet High From Her First Single And Is Following It Up With The Release Of Her New Single "Runnin’ Wild".

Rising Country Artist, Stephanie Ryann, Has Released Her First Music Video For The Song "Whiskey Regret" Off Of Her Debut, Self-titled EP To Commemorate The Anniversary Of Its Release Last October

Lynch Welcomed Steel Guitar Hall Of Famers Chubby Howard, Joe Wright, Lyn Owsley, Billy Robinson And Russ Hicks To Keepin’ It Country Farm In Ohio.

You can reduce water use not by forgoing the recommended eight daily glasses of water, showering less often, or draining the fishbowl but by cutting back on grass, the turf kind, that is.

This year, it wasn’t the typical stoner types in all-green that descended on Civic Center Park in April with marijuana leaf flags. It was the star-spangled banners that waved sky high in an intense display of patriotic exceptionalism this past weekend that should have just stayed home.

Each of us is morally and ethically called upon to do the right thing, make sacrifices, and take the necessary steps to keep our family, friends, co-workers and community safe.

Cut out Saturday mail Re: “Coronavirus threatening delivery of the U.S. mail,” April 10 news story

Think of the bees Take a break from your corona isolation and look outside. Tiny bursts of sunshine are emerging from our lawns, ranchlands and public places, announcing that spring is truly here. It’s dandelion season.

CDC is part of the problem Re: “President’s decision includes safety measures,” May 1 letter to the editor and “Despite virus outbreaks work deemed critical,” April 29 news story

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts two Sibelius symphonies and the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3 with soloist Daniil Trifonov.

The Band Documents Their Travels Touring Across The US In A ‘73 Airstream

Legendary And Multi-Platinum Rockers STYX Are Continuing On Their Never-ending “mission” To Bring Their Music To Their Loyal Fans In 2020 With New Tour Dates.

District 97 “Screens” Will Be Released In The UK/Europe Oct. 4 And North America Oct. 11, 2019.

The Featured Acoustic Music Artists Of The Month Are: CoCo O’Connor, Rory Block And Joseph L Young

Live Nation and AEG Presents will offer refunds to ticketholders whose events have been canceled due to coronavirus.

He now urges people to be careful and to stay home. “I hear your frustration,” he said of those protesting to restart the economy, “but what good is all the things you’re protesting for if you’re dead?”

Arbery had committed no offense. His only offense, the thing that drew suspicion, was that he was black and male and running through these white men’s neighborhood.

How strong is our economy if it can’t absorb shocks? If growth comes at a great expense to future generations? And where is the scorecard that tells us how we are actually doing?

Colorado Republican Party Chair Ken Buck, a U.S. representative from Windsor, pressured a local party official to submit incorrect election results to set the primary ballot for a state Senate seat, according to an audio recording of a conference call obtained by The Denver Post.

The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus.

The Weld County GOP chairman has filed a complaint with the local district attorney and the Secretary of State’s Office accusing an aide to Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck and three others of election fraud and corruption.

(United States Third Circuit) - Vacated an administrative decision ordering a lawful permanent resident removed from the United States for having committed an aggravated felony. The man, a trader at a financial services firm who pleaded guilty to a securities law violation, argued that his crime was not truly an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act and therefore he should not be removed. Finding merit in his argument, the Third Circuit granted his petition for review and remanded the case to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further proceedings.

(United States Third Circuit) - Held that the federal Rehabilitation Act generally requires that individuals with disabilities be permitted to be accompanied by their service animals. The plaintiffs in this case were the parents of an elementary school student with epilepsy who wanted to be accompanied at school by her service dog. On a question of first impression in the federal courts of appeals, the Third Circuit concluded that such requests for reasonable accommodation are per se reasonable in the ordinary course. The panel held that the district court's contrary jury instructions constituted reversible error.

(United States Third Circuit) - Held that police officers were entitled to qualified immunity from claims arising out of a wild high-speed chase that ended with the motorist being shot between 16 and 18 times. The apparently unarmed motorist and his wife filed this suit alleging that the officers violated the motorist's Fourth Amendment rights. On interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity, the Third Circuit held that the officers' conduct was within the bounds of the Supreme Court's relevant decisions regarding the use of lethal force, and the officers were entitled to summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds.

(United States Third Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of taxi operators' constitutional challenge to an agreement that the City of Newark entered into with the ride-sharing service Uber. The taxi operators claimed that the City had violated their constitutional and state law rights by subjecting Uber and similar ride-sharing services to less onerous regulations than those imposed on taxi and limousine operators. Unpersuaded by these arguments, the Third Circuit held that the potentially unfair situation created by the City's decision could not be remedied through the plaintiffs' constitutional and state law claims.

(United States Third Circuit) - Dismissed an appeal filed in a civil rights case by the estate of a man who was shot and killed by police officers. As the administrator of the estate, the man's mother filed suit alleging that the officers had used excessive force. When the jury returned a verdict in favor of the officers, she appealed pro se. Dismissing her appeal on grounds that she had filed it without counsel, the Third Circuit held that a non-attorney who is not a beneficiary of an estate may not conduct a case pro se on behalf of the estate.

(United States Third Circuit) - Denied a petition for review of a Pennsylvania state regulators' decision to grant a Clean Water Act certification to a natural gas pipeline project. An environmental organization raised various procedural and substantive arguments against the environmental regulators' issuance of a water quality certification. On judicial review, the Third Circuit held that the environmentalists' challenge failed on the merits. Prior to reaching the merits, the panel discussed in detail questions regarding its jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act.

(United States Third Circuit) - Rejected challenges to a natural gas pipeline project but remanded on one issue. Local governments and an environmental organization argued that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving a proposed interstate pipeline expansion, but the Third Circuit rejected this argument. However, on a separate issue, the panel remanded to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection with instructions to reconsider the petitioners' request for an adjudicatory hearing.

(United States Third Circuit) - Denied an alien's petition for review of a decision ordering him removed from the United States. The Board of Immigration Appeals had ruled that the citizen of Cameroon, who entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1989, was ineligible for waiver of removal because his felony conviction of making false statements about a sham marriage constituted a crime involving moral turpitude. On appeal, the Third Circuit agreed that the man was not eligible for a fraud waiver, and thus denied his petition for review.

(United States Third Circuit) - Held that a motorist who was kicked in the face during his arrest, breaking his eye socket, could pursue conspiracy claims against the four police officers at the scene, all of whom denied kicking him or seeing who did. The motorist did not know which of the officers had kicked him. The Third Circuit held that this doomed his excessive-force claim. However, the panel allowed him to continue litigating his claim of an unconstitutional after-the-fact conspiracy to cover up misconduct, reversing summary judgment in relevant part.