Full Post List
- You Have Saved Me
(Sermon) The suffering metaphors of Psalm 22 are still relevant today as is the promise of God’s relief. One Hebrew word, ‘ă·nî·ṯā·nî, translated “you have saved me” connects metaphor and promise and is explored as it applies today. - Made for a Time Such as This
(Personal reflection/Sermon) Perhaps finding your grand purpose includes “a time such as this”. A reflection on the book of Esther. - Pooping and Faith?
(Commentary) What can pooping possibly have to do with faith? The answer might make you smile. - And Yet
(Personal journeys/reflections) A reflection on trusting God when life events leave us pondering. - The Behavior of Love
(Sermon) John tells believers to love as Jesus did and feels no need to define the word beyond that. His approach is considerably more powerful and convicting than any secular definition of love. - The Angelic Message
(Sermon) The angel at the tomb of Jesus gave a two-part divine message that no human could conceive. - The Mindset of Christ Jesus
(Sermon) St. Paul describes the mindset of Christ Jesus and the pathway that leads us from our own fallen mindset to that of the living Savior. - Prioritizing Concerns
(Sermon) When Peter is rebuked for believing nothing bad can happen to Jesus, Christ reveals a remedy for our human condition that is both paradoxical and beautiful. - Servants and the Law
(Sermon) Luke describes how Mary and Joseph complied with Jewish law for their son. The impact of abiding by the law on our service to God is explored. - The Proverbial Man
(Sermon) A lovely story of Biblical truth in one man’s life. - Hoarse shoes
(by Dave) A short Christmas thought for today. - Christmas Presents from God
(Sermon) Isaiah predicts a fabulous Christmas present from God that never loses its ability to inspire. - A Christmas Adventure
(Fiction) Written for my granddaughter, the story follows Joe, Mary and Chloe through a most unusual Christmas Eve. - When You are a False Prophet
(Sermon) It is hard to be Christ’s representative when your family and friends believe God’s principles are false. Jeremiah walked this path as a prophet and shows us the journey we can expect and how best to complete it. - What does it take to love you?
(Psalms and prayers) A prayer of questioning devotion. - Community, Conformity and the Great Commission
(Sermon) Paul warns against the hazards of false apostles (unbelievers) within a Christian community. How his warning intersects with the great commission and the reality of the world is explored in the context of psychological realities about human behavior. - The University of the Canaanite Mother
(Sermon) When a Canaanite mother comes to Jesus for help, she encounters a harsh reply. Her response is a wonderful exposition on grace from which all sinners can learn. - The New Nihilism
(Commentary) A new nihilism fueled by scientific speculation of multiple universes is the topic of this year’s best picture, Everything Everywhere All at Once. The action-packed romp with a happy ending offers a solution to today’s nihilism that is as depressing as the nihilism it seeks to address. God offers a compelling alternative. - The Tongue(Personal journey/reflection) Jen reflects on her personal experiences of using words to uplift and tear down. She then humbly invites the reader to join her in exploring her past and present motivations for both. Using the book of James as a standard for behavior, Jen wonderfully outlines a process for taming her own tongue so that the words she utters will always be in service to God alone.
- Miracles that Testify
(Sermon) When God told Abraham and Sarah that she would bear a son at 90, they laughed. The reasons why might keep today’s believers from seeing divine miracles in their lives. Miracles that testify to the presence of God and once noted should be passed on as a testimony to the pervasive presence of God. - Praying for the Napkin
(Psalms and Prayers) A prayer to hear God’s voice. - Sober Judgement and the Power of Service(Sermon) Paul believes that the body of Christ has many members and, like our own bodies, each is important for healthy function. This post explores the truth of his wisdom from the unusual perspective of the life of a man with no faith.
- When Hearing Hurts
(Personal journeys/reflections) A personal testimony of God’s work in the life of one who suffers from chronic pain. - Pregnancy, Labor Pains and Childbirth: Not Just for WomenIn this beautiful reflection, Jen likens sanctification to the pain of labor and the miraculous new life it produces. An authentic encouragement for all from a mother and disciple who was shaped by childbirth and is still being pruned by God.
- Go in Peace and Serve the Lord(Sermon) A confrontation between the Sanhedrin and the apostles reveals four lessons for how any Spirit led Christian can serve God at peace in a world where opposition to the Word abounds. Remarkably, the lessons create peace within the believer and minimize conflict with those who may oppose our faith and its teachings.
- Beauty for Ashes(Personal journeys/reflections) Isaiah 61:3 promises God will give beauty for ashes for those who mourn. A reflection about how this verse comes alive in a Christian’s life is beautifully described.
- Easter, Empathy and the Death of Fear(Sermon) Fear is the first thing encountered after the heading Jesus Has Risen in Matthew’s gospel. Maybe the reason is because our empathetic Savior is the death of fear.
- A Healing Faith(Sermon) A passage from John reveals that comprehensive faith in God and Christ is challenging, but healing.
- To Live as He Lives(Prayer)
- Tell me ‘Bout the Good Old Days(Sermon) Seeing God’s principles at work in the good old days makes us long for them to return or for ill-advised progress to at least stop. Peter had a similar response to the Transfiguration of Jesus. His experience instructs us how best to use the past and see the power of God in the world today.
- Remembering the Infinite Holiness of God(Sermon) When Isaiah and Simon meet God face-to-face they are overwhelmed with God’s holiness and their own sinfulness. God’s response to their honest, repentant hearts reveals that remembering the infinite holiness of God is the first and perhaps most important step in serving the Lord.
- Loved, Redeemed and Summoned by Name(Sermon) Isaiah predicts judgment and redemption for the Jewish people. His words are applicable for us today. They convey that you and I are loved, redeemed and summoned by name to uniquely serve. That service may be surprisingly simple, wonderfully important, and personally gratifying.
- Sing with the Angels Everyone, It’s Christmas(Sermon) A Christmas reminder of the joy God had in announcing his son. May we all feel the same joy this year.
- The Armor of God(Sermon) Paul describes the devil’s schemes to destroy the unity of the church as an individual assault on each of its members. He then describes the armor needed to defend against it. Here the armor is discussed in the context of a single person’s life lived defenseless and defended.
- Why we need the Old Testament(Commentary) The Old Testament reveals a God of justice that many find disturbing. Yet it is indispensable in answering the question of why Christ had to die so brutally. The violent nature of the Old Testament is directly addressed in the broader context of God’s solution to original sin.
- A Psalm of Praise from the Rescued(Psalms and prayers) A psalm of praise in times of trouble.
- Refresh the Hearts of the Lord’s People(Sermons) Paul writes a lovely, warm letter to Philemon, and in it are lessons for us about how to refresh the hearts of God’s people with love.
- Purpose Lost Ch. 4: The Security Guard
(Fiction) The fourth chapter in the purpose lost series returns to the day when Stephanie Holmes was in a psychiatric hospital (chapter 1). The security guard, Dave, is called when Stephanie’s parents become unruly. Dave has an unusual secret. - Thankfulness and the Plumb Line of God(Sermon) God compares prospering Israel and Judah against His plumb line of right and true in the book of Amos and finds them lacking. Are we? Paul describes overflowing thankfulness as the way home.
- That Wretched Christianity
(Fiction) Jesus predicted persecution for his followers and it comes in many forms. In this fictional story, a college student must confront her roommate’s hostility toward her faith. In an interesting twist, she defends it with logic. - Perceiving God: Is This for Real?(Commentary) When Christians perceive the Spirit of God is it real? Could it be we want to have an encounter with God and our brains create one. Or is perceiving God as real as our other senses?
- Mercy, Justice and Love: Absolutes of God(Sermon) If God is absolutely just, how can He show mercy? If God is absolutely merciful, how can He be just? Yet God is both and only love can explain it.
- Seeking Mercy
(Fiction) When forgiveness is hard to find either from the world or yourself, Jesus will forgive. He longs to forgive and make things right. In this story, Juliann Masterson lives in the absence of that and the consequences on her life are revealed. - Wandering in a Wilderness of Deceit(Sermon) As Christians we often spend time trying not to sin, but sin is enticing. So we lie to ourselves and spin that lie out to the world to make the sin okay. In a confrontation between Jesus and Judas, Jesus confronts just such a lie and teaches us about our nature and how to manage it.
- Give your Life to Save it(Sermon) Every day, strive to love Christ exponentially more than anything in this life. Only when we give up our lives for this will we find life as the people we were intended to be.
- A Psalm for the Suffering(Psalms and Prayers) My Lord, my God, my Savior, so many I know suffer. Their pain weighs heavy on my heart, and I plead for them.
- To Fulfill All Righteousness: Hope for the Sinner(Sermon) Satan’s temptation of Jesus was unsuccessful. In the Lord’s response is everything we need to know to resist as well. An inspiring story of resistance from today reveals the truth of the Lord’s teaching.
- Purpose Lost Ch. 3: The Classroom Visit
(Fiction) The third chapter of the purpose lost series finds a young Steve Johnson (chapter 1) in a college class on religion. His professor believes God cannot be both good and all-powerful if evil exists in the world. As he attempts to convince his class that God doesn’t exist, he confronts a visitor who makes him and the class think. - The Priestly Blessing(Sermon) What does it mean to have the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you? It could mean you will be blessed with material things. Philippians has an entirely different interpretation that is a real blessing.
- The Evidence We Don’t See(Commentary) A naturalist will often say to a Christian: “show me the evidence for God”. When we do, it is disregarded as anecdotal and unscientific. The question then becomes what is the nature of evidence and how do pre-held convictions influence it. In my journey to Christianity this was prominent, and I tell a bit of that story here.