“For the person who is anxious or depressed, they may find further guilt and shame in what we say. For the person in a difficult situation, they may be looking for hope in our words, but what if what we say doesn’t pan out? Do our words give false hope? What authority do we have... Continue Reading

“Do you see my point in recounting this solemn, yet glorious, narrative? Nobody would have recognized Joseph as one of Jesus’ followers. His family, friends and neighbors did not associate Joseph with the Nazarene. His fellows on the Sanhedrin were startled by His impartiality and integrity yet never, for a second, suspected a turncoat in... Continue Reading

“The message of the cross is foolishness. This is the point: the very nature of Christianity is not the kind of religion that appeals to human nature. Christianity is the kind of religion whose worshipers boast of no glory and claim no rewards for their efforts. Instead, Christians confess their weakness and sinfulness.”   If... Continue Reading

“Clearly, the Apostle’s Creed was an expression of truth meant to combat a particular heresy. But like all good creeds it unites the church in any generation around Biblical truth. So, in this series we are going to look at a valuable and enriching statement of the Christian Faith and we will do it line... Continue Reading

“The Lord’s Supper is spiritual nourishment promised by the sign of bread and wine and realized by the Holy Spirit. If this empowering is the work of the Holy Spirit, it must also be said that the Spirit works through faith. In other words, this empowering comes through believing the Gospel, both as it is... Continue Reading

How do we know which books belong in the Bible? How do we know that these 66 books are the correct ones? How do we know we’re not missing something? And who decided what would be included in the Bible and what would not?   It’s a question you hear often. And it’s one that... Continue Reading

My family has endured the most difficult year of our lives. We’ve experienced unexpected grief and have, at times, felt overwhelmed by darkness. But in the midst of our sorrow, we have found hope in this image from Isaiah. The picture of new life emerging from the old stump has helped us place the sorrows... Continue Reading

We see marriage determined by our opinions on gender and sexuality, marriage for convenience, divorce because we’re bored, and websites that have profited from selling affairs to married people. So much of our world’s approach to marriage is concerned with how it affects “me,” “my truth,” and “my desires.”   Just recently, my local church... Continue Reading

Whether you’re prone to jump on the hamster wheel and chase down the unattainable goal of perfection, or more like me, and find yourself laying down on the hamster wheel and being trampled by the more motivated hamsters, you’ve probably experienced the shame of not achieving all that you feel you ought.   There is... Continue Reading

Love in a church also involves mercy and forbearance, even as we have received mercy and forbearance. Love covers a multitude of sins. Some of your fellow members are easy to love. Some are difficult. And that’s just the point. The easy-to-love teach us how to love the difficult-to-love. The annoying ones. The immature ones.... Continue Reading