Nov 23, 2015 | Christian Living, Psalms, The Bible
Psalm 116 has much in common with other thanksgiving Psalms, but it also has an element that’s a bit unusual: the Psalmist identifies the specific reason for his thanksgiving. He was near death, he cried out to the Lord for rescue, and the God of covenant mercy,...
Jul 6, 2015 | Christian Living, Church History, The Bible
Two questions plagued the minds of the earliest believers: “What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?” and “Should the Christian faith be proclaimed outside the borders of Judaism?” Jesus answered both questions at His Ascension: You shall be My witnesses both in...
Mar 4, 2015 | 1 & 2 Corinthians, Christian Living, The Bible
If you had asked an ancient Hebrew rabbi to describe to you the central confession of the Israelite religion, he would have responded with the Shema: Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with...
Dec 31, 2014 | Christian Living, Culture, The Bible, Theology
There’s so much more to the Christian faith than simply dying and going to heaven. You see, heaven is not yet finished. We have in our minds the notion that heaven is already completed and perfected, but that’s really not the way the story is told in Scripture. The...
Nov 3, 2014 | Christian Living, Culture, Theology
I was once interim pastor of an inner city church that had, for various reasons, begun to decline in numbers. As church attendance dropped, month after month and year after year, the remaining congregation began to face the possibility that its days might be...
