The Purpose of Prayer

September 24, 2023
Jesus has been telling those who want to be his followers about the sort of life they are to live.  He has been telling them about the disposition of the…

Notice and Care

September 17, 2023
It’s Scottish pastor, Bible student, and professor William Barclay, again, who writes of the ability to choose to be loving.  We have this ability as a gift in Christ through…

Holy Help

September 10, 2023
Poor Jimmy Carter.  You just know there’ll be trouble when you get interviewed for Playboy magazine.  Why would anyone agree to that interview?  Back in 1976, Carter mentioned—confessed—to the reporters…

Tell His Story

August 27, 2023
But we’ve always done it that way.  What is that tried-and-true definition of insanity: repeating the same actions while expecting a different result?  Because Jesus did not do the things…
What characteristic makes a Christian Christian?  Faith?  Love?  Hope?  Obedience?  Humility?  I believe—I hope—that I speak with you often about these virtues, these qualities.  These are what give distinctive flavor…

Pure

July 30, 2023
Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see, little ears, what you hear.  Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say, little hands, what you do.  Oh, be careful, little…

Truth Lovingly Applied

July 23, 2023
Mercy forgives.  Forgiveness does not undo the consequences of our sin; this is why you and I must struggle, continually, against those impulses to sin that come and knock, like…
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (5:6).  O, that the earth would be filled with the righteousness of God!  O, that those…
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (5:5).  I’ve said before, I’ll say again: I do not like this word meek.  I suppose no one wants meek…

Who Supplies Our Need

June 25, 2023
Jesus went up on a mountainside.  What’s it like to be on the mountain?  We tend to think of the high hills of Israel as grassy, like mountain meadows, maybe…