When I began attending church twenty-two years ago, I’m not sure I knew what I was expecting.  I just had this inner sense—whispering, nudging—that God wanted me to go to…

Opportunity and Promises

November 19, 2023
Jesus came to call people to follow, to believe and follow: only believe, just follow.  If they weren’t sure whether they believed, Jesus told them to follow and see.  “Trust…

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…
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…

Mañana

November 6, 2022
I heard some advice that if you can get something done in two minutes or less, then do it.  Don’t put off until mañana what you can do today.  In…

Pray for Who?

July 10, 2022
At some point, you may have wondered why we do church the way we do.  If you worship elsewhere when you’re on vacation—I hope you do!—you’ve noticed that different churches…

The Limits of Our Discipleship

February 28, 2021
          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…

Let’s Go

February 7, 2021
          Lord-willing, we have Jesus in our church.  I think we do.  My aim, my desire, is that we are always putting Jesus Christ front and center in this church:…
          Paul wants us to live with concern for the discipleship of others.  This is part of a larger discussion of the uses and abuses of freedom.  We have been…

The Language of the Soul

November 15, 2020
          The prediction business is deeply flawed, because we are deeply flawed, and our wishes easily worm their way into our predictions.  Scientists have long understood that the presence of…