Jesus died for our sins—committed and inherited. And what that means is that Christ’s death has transformed this death. Because of His death, this death is not merely a return of dust to dust. This burial today is not an act of finality. It is an act of gardening—yes, even on this frigid February afternoon.... Continue Reading

God isn’t done with us when we die. Our stories will go on forever in the afterlife. He will compensate for, make up for, finish, and tie up together beautifully lives that were seemingly unfinished and not what they were meant to be. But one day they will become what they were meant to be.... Continue Reading

By suffering the punishment for sin in our place, the crucified Christ made a way for you and me to have fellowship with him through faith. Through his resurrection, the same Christ opened the door for us to share in his eternal life. Will you at least consider the possibility that all this might be... Continue Reading

The problem with fixing our minds and hearts on things above is that we have a thousand earthly things that occupy our minds and hearts. Making it worse is the fact that we cannot avoid these earthly things. They simply have to be done. How do we deal with that?   Every day, you and... Continue Reading

When the author of Hebrews tells us that the Father speaks to the Son in the words of Psalm 2…we should look back to Psalm 2 and ask in what ways the Father and Son are present there. When we do, we find new depths of interpretation open to us as we allow Hebrews to... Continue Reading

Jesus is the hero of the story and we are the friends he made along the way. We’re the burdens he carries through the doors of death and into the heavens. It’s in following him and being empowered by his Spirit that we are able…to act ‘heroically’ because we know we’re not the hero.  ... Continue Reading

Be faithful to the Lord’s call, do your very best, and leave the results up to him. You may labor your entire ministry in relative obscurity and by the world’s standards you’re unsuccessful. But following God’s call and faithfully preaching the gospel to a small congregation in a rural community means that in his eyes... Continue Reading

All four New Testament Gospels agree that the body of Jesus was buried, that his body exited the tomb on the third day, and that witnesses saw him alive. If the other stories in the Gospels originated among people in the places where the alleged events occurred, the resurrection stories most likely did as well. ... Continue Reading

Knowing our identity as sons of David informs our purpose and role as Christians to be temple-builders—those who build up the body of Christ. And just like Solomon, we need to ask God to give us his wisdom, not just to navigate a hard personal decision but for the work of ministry, for building up... Continue Reading

The weight of cares will have been lifted from their shoulders, the hollow-eyed sorrow of loss will have been removed from their countenance.  Weakness of mind will have given way to strength, frailty of body will have been replaced by fortitude. All will be well. All will be better than we have ever known or... Continue Reading