Two by two. Why pairs? I get why Jesus didn’t send them each alone. I have many plans to serve the Lord, beloved. Plans. Hopes. Dreams. It’s good to…
John doesn’t want us to be afraid. He knows Jesus. How many times, John remembers so well, Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid.” John wants us to be wise. He…
I’ve spoken of purification, obedience, and rejecting the world. We reject the world when we say Yes to Christ and No to the panorama of alluring sins in vogue…
What is world-born is world-bound; what is Spirt-born is heaven-bound. With Jesus, the spirit-born are called to live differently from the world-born. Scottish pastor and biblical scholar William Barclay…
We make progress in love together in Christ. When love is returned in kind, the obligation of love is not burdensome. Where love is not returned, any thought of obligation…
Ours is a fellowship of confession. Fellowship begins with Christ. The Greek word we translate as fellowship is koinonia, which could also be translated as participation, communion. We have…
God sent Jesus to be our Redeemer, our Savior. Redemption comes with a cost; payment must be made, satisfaction given. The one wronged—God—must be satisfied. I don’t have the…
We know we’re supposed to give thanks with a grateful heart, but sometimes we feel as if we’re just going through the motions of thankfulness, like other things we…
Peter isn’t happy about what’s going to happen to Jesus. Neither are we. Suffer? Killed? Terrible! Let’s be followers without the suffering. In seminary, no one quite knew what…
Jesus emerges. He emerges from the bright, cool waters of the Jordan; he emerges from the hard, dark tomb. He reaches through the twilight of our confusion, our sorrow,…