We read about “the gospel of the kingdom” because the good news of Jesus cannot be separated from the kingdom. Often times, the gospel and the kingdom are synonymous, such as in Luke 9 where it says that Jesus sent the apostles out to proclaim the kingdom and God and it then states that they... Continue Reading

The Creed serves a variety of purposes. By it we confess the faith. It provides a syllabus to catechize in the faith. It provides dialog for the liturgy of worship in celebration of God’s majesty and mercy. The Creed is also missional, holding aloft the banner of the kingdom of God, beckoning to belief and... Continue Reading

In our culture, we do everything we can to avoid thinking about death—at least in a positive sense. We do, however, spend a lot of time thinking about how we can delay or avoid it. We pour our money and time into gym memberships, diet plans, and self-help books in hopes of staving off death,... Continue Reading

The end of sex is union with God in Christ (Eph 5:32). Sexual capacity no matter our chromosomal makeup points in this direction. No matter our genetics, we all have one human nature. And Christ united to that nature through his hypostatic union. And by the Spirit, Christians with one human nature (the same as... Continue Reading

 “Do you remember, in the stress of your trial, how faith comes? Let me remind you, although you know it. You know we are sanctified through the truth. Sanctification is just the growth of the particular graces of the spirit, of which faith is one. Just here is where Christians make a great mistake. When... Continue Reading

The pastor’s role is not to fix, but to minister. It’s not to repair what has been broken, to restore what has been separated, to heal what has been wounded. Rather, the pastor’s job—and his great delight—is to minister. “To minister” is “to tend to” or “to provide.” A father who cuddles his hurting daughter... Continue Reading

If we look to fathers to educate, and if God is the “one father of all” (Eph. 4:6), then we should look to God for the basic pattern of education. And we find this pattern in the creation story. God begins with formless and void matter, takes it in his “hands,” imposes order on it,... Continue Reading

Just as it is inappropriate to mourn and fast at a wedding when the groom is present, so it is inappropriate to mourn and therefore fast, when Jesus—the great bridegroom—is present. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and the bridegroom of his people. Jesus’ coming as the Messiah means that he is lifting the wrath and... Continue Reading

Let’s consider what the disciples had experienced in the last 24-48 hours prior to falling asleep after being asked to pray for Jesus in his greatest hour of emotional anguish. They traveled to a new city, prepared the Passover meal in someone else’s home (never easy to cook in someone else’s kitchen), had a meal... Continue Reading

God did design us to think for ourselves. That’s one reason the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was present in the garden. God simply did not design us to think by ourselves. It is not irrational for very limited, contingent creatures to depend on the guidance of an omniscient, self-existing Creator to... Continue Reading