Integrity
“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37, NIV) Jesus is talking about integrity here. Sunday, we’ll study the story of Joseph – a man of great integrity. His integrity gained Pharaoh’s trust and Joseph became the second most influential man in Egypt. […]
Now What?
“Now that same day [resurrection Sunday] two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:13, NIV) I remember the Steve Martin movie, The Father of the Bride, about a father’s reluctance to “let go” of his daughter. It came to mind after my own son’s wedding this […]
Broken
“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.” (Mark 14:3, NIV) The week before Jesus’ death, he […]
Fights among You
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?“ (James 4:1, NIV) I heard the story recently of a castle in Ireland. Over the years, the castle was uninhabited and fell into disrepair. Neighboring peasants began to scavenge the castle for stones. After all, these were beautiful […]
Judge Not
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) As some of you may know, I write a column in the local paper that sometimes makes people mad. Being a contributor for the religion section, I will point out societal ills that you and I would consider unbiblical. It makes some folks pretty […]
The Gospel According to Mephibosheth
Paul Harvey once told the story of “The Man and the Birds (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddai8rkXWRs ).” It’s about a man who wanted to help a flock of birds, caught in a snowstorm, get into the safety of his warm barn. He tried to shoo them…he tried to catch them…he tried to lead them with a trail of […]
Responding to Christmas
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about (Luke 2:15, NIV).” The shepherds give us a great example to follow when we hear God’s word. They responded immediately. We […]
Where’s the Real King?
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2, NIV) Try to imagine, for […]
God with Us
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23, NIV) The two pivotal facts of Jesus’ incarnation are found right here: Jesus is God and Jesus is human. He is Immanuel, God with us. Why is this important? Consider […]
The Cradle, Cross, and Crown
One of the reasons we love Christmas is because of tradition. There’s an old saying that tradition is a clock that tells you what time it was. And for many of us, that time was our childhood…or when the kids were little…or before a loved one passed away. So it stands to reason that many […]
The Way, the Truth, and the Life
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“ (John 14:6) “Reported red light camera ahead.” That was what the GPS navigator told my wife and me the other day. She had a new app that was like normal navigation software with a […]
Good Shepherd, Bad Sheep
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1540397101335{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]”“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—” (John 10:14, NIV) Last week, we were introduced to one of the ongoing analogies the Scriptures use to describe us: sheep. And I suggested, tongue-in-cheek, that maybe we’re called sheep because we’re so cute. And yet, I’m pretty […]
