Pride and Prejudice
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.“ (James 2:1, NIV) One of the problems with the church in the first century (and still today) is prejudice. James begins chapter two with a clear injunction against it, reminding Christians that it is incompatible with the Christian faith. And just to […]
Margin for 2019
The other night, my wife and I were in Dallas celebrating our anniversary. We were dressed for a very nice dinner and a show. We were headed home and I was tired. Walking to the car, we saw a lady in an SUV parked near us who couldn’t get her car started. I kept walking. […]
Bread of Life
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” (Mark 6:34, NIV) Outside of Jesus’ resurrection, the only miracle recorded in all four Gospel accounts is Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. And of those accounts, only […]
Take Heart
“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? […]
Forgiving Others Ain’t Easy
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.“ (Luke 17:5-6, NIV) We just love that verse, don’t we?! The disciples utter a beautiful […]
VP of Peas
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you….Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.“ (John 13:14-15, 17, NIV) Being humble isn’t the […]
Missing the Point
“Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews [Pharisees] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law […]
How to Pray
““This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” (Matthew 6:9, NIV) We started a new sermon series last week and we’re looking at the spiritual disciplines Jesus taught his disciples. One of the more important ones is prayer. When Jesus was asked by one of the twelve: […]
When in Doubt…
“They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he [Thomas] replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”” (John 20:25, NLT) Are you the kind of person who needs evidence and data to […]
Watch for “Blind-Spots”
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not […]
Raw Courage
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”” (John 18:10-11, NIV) Peter was a courageous man. Here we see him […]
No, not Him!
“…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, NIV) We all know that famous line from Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. The father receives the son back, […]
