Today is a day for wrapping up. Next Sunday, I’ll start telling the story from the top once again. What crowns the story, its conclusion and vision, is Christ…
Second Thessalonians is short. When I first read through the Bible, it was a real relief finally to get to books that were two pages long. Though brief, this letter…
Well, okay . . . so that’s a lot. Scholars regard Paul’s two letters to the believers in Thessalonika as his earliest. The church there was concerned about the end,…
Paul speaks of the people who belong to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1). Have you thought much about belonging to God? In Jesus Christ, we are people…
One of my hardest ministry moments so far was when a very involved member (not here at Bethel) told me that I only appreciated her for what she did, not…
His spirit fills us. Beloved, how beautiful, those words! We feel so full of so many things. Sometimes, it’s fear. Sometimes, it’s anger, resentment. Sometimes it’s love, yes, that’s true,…
How are we supposed to do church? How are we supposed to be church? Those are good questions, even though we are nearly two thousand years into this. We have…
Being a follower of Jesus Christ can be demanding. We feel worn out just living for ourselves! To live for others can feel even more exhausting, before we even…
Well, our translation says unless we love Jesus more (14:26). You may remember that Jesus says hate: unless you hate your parents, spouse, children, and life itself, you can’t be…
Jesus reminds us to be humble, to seek humility, to learn it and grow in it. We praise beauty; we praise excellence; we praise performance. Humility is more worthy of…