Sermon on the Mount: Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
In Jesus’ day the phrase Law and Prophets was shorthand for their Bible which we call the Old Testament. The Law included Genesis-Deuteronomy. The prophets included the historical books (Joshua-Esther)...
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Book Review: Renewed – Clothed with the Wealth of Jesus in a Tattered Land by...
I have really been enjoying teaching through Colossians the last few Sunday mornings in my adult Bible class. Paul’s letter is so relevant for us today in helping us understand how the things we...
View ArticleSermon on the Mount: A Good Reason to Leave the Assembly Early
Have you ever left worship angry? Let me ask that another way, have you ever left the assembly because you were angry and realized that you had to make it right before you sang one more song or said...
View ArticleBaptismal Imagery in Colossians 3:8-12
There are two key words in Colossians 3 that are inextricably connected but quite easy to miss. If you are reading the NIV (which is the version I use the most) you will most likely miss it where they...
View ArticleColossians and the Balance Between Inreach and Outreach
Paul spends the first three chapters of Colossians instructing them on a number of things. When you read Colossians one of the things that jumps out is that these people are immersed in a world of...
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Fascinating Story Order in the Gospels
Sometimes the Gospels have stories that are ordered in such a way that it just blows my mind. Because these connections span multiple stories it can be easy to miss because we often study one unit of...
View ArticleThe Fruit of the Spirit is Essential
The fruit of the Spirit is essential, not because it is a checklist unto salvation but because it is the inevitable byproduct of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. We have a funny relationship with the...
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Putting the Prodigal in Context
Luke 15 is one of the most famous chapters in the New Testament. In this chapter, Jesus tells three stories about things that are lost. Really it is about one thing, one sheep and a young man. I guess...
View ArticleFaith
In Hebrew the word is אֵֶמוּנָה and in Greek it is πιστις. We are talking about faith and if you can’t read either of those two words, it doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. You don’t have to be a...
View ArticleSwimming Upstream: The Shift from Modernism to Postmodernism and Legalism to...
The culture we live in is like the old fish who asked the two younger fish “how is the water.” The two young fish looked at each other and one asked, “What is water?” Culture is inescapable and it...
View ArticleThe Holy Spirit’s Role in Jesus’ Miracles
Throughout scripture the Holy Spirit has enabled people to do amazing things. The Spirit empowered several of the judges to do the mighty things God called them to do (Samson and Gideon to name a few)....
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Fellowship Doesn’t Mean Potluck
The Greek word normally associated with “fellowship” is the word koinonia. It doesn’t typically mean sit in the same room as someone for a church potluck. What does it mean? It is a word that describes...
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Book Giveaway – Centered in God: The Trinity and Christian Spirituality
Mark Powell, professor at Harding School of Theology in Memphis wrote an excellent book just over a year ago titled, “Centered in God: The Trinity and Christian Spirituality.” Dr. Powell has spent a...
View ArticleIs This The Most Faith-Full Moment in Jesus’ Ministry?
When you say John 4 your first thought probably goes the woman at the well. There is another story in that chapter that I find one of the most moving and faith-full moments in the Gospels. I don’t know...
View Article7 Things that Tempt us to Check the Fruit of the Spirit at the Door
There are times it seems Christians check the fruit of the Spirit at the door and proceed without caution: When you are doctrinally correct: Being right on a matter doesn’t give you the right to be...
View ArticleWas Paul the Best, Worst Communicator or is Something Else Going on?
There is a place in Paul’s writing that confused me for the longest time. What is the confusing statement? “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,” – 1 Corinthians 2:4...
View ArticleMaking the Foreign, Native: Connecting with Culture on Three Levels
Cultural awareness is very important in Christianity. We get focused on this when it comes to international missions, especially full-time, long-term, over-seas missionaries. They can spend years...
View ArticleComplete agreement of word, mind and thought in the body of Christ (1...
Is this entirely possible? “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you,...
View ArticleThe Fallacy in Pareto’s Principle…Proving the 80/20 rule wrong
The Pareto Principle is an organizational principle that goes back a number of years that states in an organization 80% of the work typically gets done by 20% of the people. I have heard this principle...
View ArticleTransition: The Space Between
Transition is an interesting place to be. When you live in the “space between” what is and what will be it creates an interesting tension that has a built in capacity to act as our teacher. Israel went...
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