Our Father in Heaven…
As I was sitting and listening to the sermon yesterday on the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-10) I was struck by my discomfort with the dual nature of the opening line. In the beginning of the prayer Jesus not only directs our thoughts to the unequalled holiness of the God (hallowed be […]
He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!
Well, the Lenten season is almost upon us as tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Whatever your thoughts are regarding the traditions surrounding Lent I pray it would be a time of reflection on the ministry, sacrifice, and ultimate resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am excited that we received a Lenten calendar to go through with our […]
40 Days on a Mountain
Have you ever found yourself having a detailed conversation with someone while simultaneously watching something else happening in the background? If you are a parent, I’m certain you know what I am talking about; any conversation you have at a park takes place while observing your child’s activities. I imagine it is similar for those […]
They Might be Giants…but Probably Not.
Today we are going to take a look at everyone’s favorite Bible story, the battle between David and Goliath. At least I assume that is everyone’s favorite Bible story because we are bombarded with it on Christian radio stations. We are bombarded with it by influential Christians using it as a mantra for bettering […]
Living in the Presence of God
It’s really amazing how God works sometimes. The way that He can guide our thoughts to a particular truth or reality can almost be overwhelming in its comprehensiveness. The thing He has been trying to reinforce in me the past few weeks is the importance of living in His presence with our whole lives, our […]
How and Why Does God Prune?
A few weeks ago, we discussed an aspect of Jesus’s teaching in the Upper Room and it is back here that we return this week. This time it is His discussion of being the True Vine in John 15:1-11. Here Jesus makes what would have been an easily understood analogy using the image of a […]
The Birth of the One Who Birthed Everything
Day 1 of Advent is here! In one of the greatest mysteries of all time, Creator God stepped down from Heaven and took humanity upon Himself. I reflect back on my time in seminary and I humbly recognize that even after all those hours and all of the money spent to get my degree I […]
Thankfulness
Well it seems the weather has officially locked into fall finally. Almost all of the leaves on the trees have fallen and it’s only a matter of time before the first snow falls as well. Next up on the busy holiday schedule is Thanksgiving. While the world around us is still a mess and things […]
Is Your Life a God Show or a Gong Show?
Well we’ve made it through chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians and now we are on the precipice of “a better way”. Pastor Steve told us yesterday that he’s leaving us on a cliff-hanger for next week but I’m going to try and prime the pump a little bit. We’ve spent several weeks discussing the Spiritual […]
Remembrance
The teachings of Jesus in the Upper Room with His disciples have been at the forefront of my reflections and sermon preparation recently. So much teaching happens within these 5 chapters of John 13-17, and it really addresses every aspect of what it means to be a Christian. Within this section He teaches how to […]
