Blog: November 2017

Picture the reality of your salvation: Imagine standing as a defendant in a courtroom.You’ve been justly found guilty of a crime and the penalty is death. But rather thanordering law enforcement to lead you away to be executed, the judge gets up and takesyour place. He takes your punishment upon himself, declaring your innocence andallowing you to walk free. How would you respond? This is essentially what Jesus does for sinners who trust in Him. God is the Judge, andrather than sentencing us to death like we deserve, the Father sent His Son ...

I’m in the midst of reading Brett McCracken’s book, Uncomfortable:  The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community. McCracken is a 30-something Christ-follower who brings a bold challenge against the consumer mindset that’s killing so many Christians and churches.  Here are a few quotations to ponder: “This book is about the comforting gospel of Jesus Christ that leads us to live uncomfortable lives for him” (p. 25).  “Are you willing to lay aside your ‘dream church’ consumer fantasies and accept the hard-to-stomach truths and ...

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus showed His followers that He is alive. He taught them about Himself and about God’s kingdom. (Luke 24:25-27,44-48) Jesus told them that He would soon return to the Father. (John 20:17) Jesus directed the Eleven to go a mountain. When they arrived, Jesus appeared. Some of them wondered if Jesus was finally going to overthrow the Roman government and set up His kingdom on earth. Jesus said, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. But you will ...

Today the sermon series on our Reformation Roots, “Jesus, Friend of Sinners,” wraps up.  Since September 17 we’ve explored key New Testa­ment texts about:  • the Gospel, • the gift of God’s right­eous­ness, • justification by faith (not faith plus works), • salvation in Christ alone (not in Christ plus church), • assurance of our Savior’s love (God will finish the good work he’s begun in us), • the priest­hood of all believers (not just a select few who’ve taken ‘holy orders’; we need no human mediator in order to relate to God), • the church ...

Mass shootings and violent attacks by all kinds of ruthless means (e.g., vehicles, knives, bombs) against innocent people have become so common that it’s hard to keep up on the stories:  Texas church shooting, Las Vegas music festival shooting, NYC truck ramming, plus Barcelona, London, Manchester, Orlando, Berlin, Nice, Paris… This week the media has given extensive coverage to the Nov. 5 attack at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that left 26 dead.  I especially appreciated an article from Christian psych­iatrist, ...

After Jesus’ resurrection and His appearance to the disciples, seven of the disciples returned to Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee where Jesus had called four of His disciples to be fishers of men. (See Luke 5:1-11.) The disciples went fishing. Perhaps they felt it reasonable to return to the fishing business since their stint as disciples was apparently over—or so they thought! In Bible times, nighttime was the preferred time for fishing. Fish caught at night could be sold fresh in the morning at market. But by daybreak, the disciples had ...

It is so easy to get engrossed in the pursuits and pressures of this life here and now—here in the flesh, this side of heaven!  Even as a pastor whose job is all about helping people look up to the Lord and look ahead to our future glorification in his presence, it’s so easy to get embroiled in nitty-gritty, temporal stuff.  Like lawn care and prescriptions and insurance rates and traffic and the Eagles and… If you can relate, then ask the Father to help you look up from your phone, be still in his presence, and consider the wonders ahead!  ...

Jesus’ followers had seen Jesus alive! Two disciples met Jesus as they were walking to Emmaus, and then Jesus appeared to a group of His disciples as they met together in a locked room. But one of the disciples, Thomas, had missed out. He wasn’t there when Jesus appeared. He hadn’t seen Jesus for himself. So despite his friends’ claims that the Lord was risen, Thomas doubted. In fact, he refused to believe. (John 20:25) Witnesses testified that they had seen Jesus, but Thomas wanted physical evidence. He lacked faith and was stubborn in his ...