Introduction This passage is often used on Maundy Thursday to accompany either the story of Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper or Jesus washing the disciples' feet. This psalm is part of t...
Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 9:15, 2 Timothy 2:8
Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages of the Old Testament were unique. We could then comfortably read their for...
Numbers 21:4-9, Numbers 20:5, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:9-15, John 1:29, 2 Timothy 2:8
Lent 2024: Do This in Remembrance Look to the Cross AIM commentary Ancient lens What's the historical context? What Have You Done for Me Lately? If only the people of God in the pages...
Jesus’ first sign Uniquely, John refers to Jesus’ miracles as “signs,” and changing the water into wine is recorded as being Jesus’ first sign. The use of the term “sign” is significant in that Joh...
Jesus’ first sign Uniquely, John refers to Jesus’ miracles as “signs,” and changing the water into wine is recorded as being Jesus’ first sign. The use of the term “sign” is significant in that Joh...
John 15:9-17, John 15:1-8, John 3:16, John 13:34-35
The lectionary text for this week begins at 15:9, but as I shared last week, this text should be read as a part of a larger unit, which includes the lectionary text for last week (15:1-8). Context P...
There’s a somewhat naïve belief among some that, in general, most people are inherently good. While many Christians may not fully embrace John Calvin’s doctrine of total depravity (which I believe is ...
John 15:9-17, John 15:1-8, John 3:16, John 13:34-35
The lectionary text for this week begins at 15:9, but as I shared last week, this text should be read as a part of a larger unit, which includes the lectionary text for last week (15:1-8). Context ...
Matthew 5:22-25, Matthew 5:23-24, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:44-45, Matthew 7:1, Matthew 12:9-15, Matthew 16:1-4, John 10:22-42, John 8:1-11, Matthew 12:22-37, Matthew 12:1-8, Matthew 21:23-27, Luke 7:36-50, Luke 15:null, Matthew 19:1-9, Matthew 26:57-67, John 18:19-24, Matthew 26:47-56, John 18:1-11, Luke 23:33-46
What do we learn from Jesus about anger in the Bible? Jesus’ way of dealing with anger is quite different than what we think today. If we learn to deal with anger in the way that Jesus taught and mod...
Romans 3:23-24, Acts 3:13-15, 1 Peter 2:22-23, Isaiah 53:7, John 18:38, Luke 23:13-15
One of the fascinating features of the Gospel writers’ accounts of the trial of Jesus is this blending of the legal and moral factors. They all indicate that in both Jewish and Roman courts a certain ...
1 John 1:9, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 6:12, Luke 23:34, Colossians 1:13-14, John 3:16-17, Matthew 28:18-20, John 17:18-21, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:13-15
The forgiveness of Christ is the foundation of the Christian mission.
We confess, “I believe in God.” That confession is not an expression of a creative imagination or an instance of projection, but a response to the One who manifests himself in creation, in history, in...
John 15:16 , John 1:12, John 3:1 , Psalm 51:10-12, John 15:16, 1 John 1:8-9
Pastor: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. People: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us fr...
John 1:1-18, Hebrews 1:1-2, Galatians 4:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:15-17, John 3:16-17, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 1:15-17
He who wraps the heavens in clouds wrapped round himself a towel. He who pours the water into the rivers and pools tipped... water into a basin. And he before whom every knee bends in heaven and on ea...
Matthew 5:43-45, Romans 12:17-21, Luke 17:20-21, Matthew 6:25-33, Acts 4:18-20, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Isaiah 2:4, James 3:17-18, Philippians 3:20, John 18:36
A young Russian, deeply moved by the teachings of Tolstoy and the New Testament, had become a conscientious objector. Standing before a magistrate, he spoke passionately about a life that loves its en...
John 13:1-17, 31b-35, Ephesians 5:1-2, Acts 1:8, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Galatians 2:20
Son of God Savior Sacrifice Your love is Fierce and Forever Abounding and Intimate Generous, Goodness, and Grace Fill me with your Spirit Make me your love It is your command It is your way It is ...
Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 5:10, John 3:18, Romans 4:20-21, James 1:6-8, Psalm 78:19-22
What greater rebellion against God, what greater wickedness, what greater contempt of God is there than not believing His promise? For what is this but to make God a liar or to doubt that He is truthf...
John 3:16, Matthew 1:23, John 1:1-10, Luke 1:68-69, Isaiah 61:1
Advent is a coming, not our coming to God, but his to us. We cannot come to God, he is beyond our reach; but he can come to us, for we are not beneath his mercy.
John 1:1-14, Colossians 1:19, Romans 8:29, Genesis 1:27, 1 John 3:2, 2 Peter 1:4
We cannot conceive how the Divine Spirit dwelled within the created and human spirit of Jesus.... What we can understand...is that our own...existence is...but a faint image of the Divine Incarnation ...
Philippians 3:20, John 17:28-38, John 18:36, Hebrews 13:14, Hebrews 11:8-10, Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1, 1 John 2:16, James 4:4, Genesis 11:1-9
In 410 AD, Rome fell to the barbarian Germanic tribe known as the Visigoths, led by King Alaric. The idea of a “Christian” city (and empire) falling was a terrible defeat, not just militarily, but als...
John 18:36, Romans 14:17, Mark 4:26-29, Colossians 1:13, John 3:3, Matthew 13:33
Continually, Jesus described the Kingdom in terms that one can’t point to and identify specifically—but in every story, the Kingdom was the essential piece. The Kingdom is mixed in and present already...
Genesis 2:8, Genesis 3:23-24, Exodus 15:27, Song of Solomon 4:12-15, John 18:1, Matthew 26:36
The Bible has its own garden path. It runs from Genesis to Revelation. In fact, some of the most important events in the Christian faith take place in Biblical gardens, evens around which Christianity...
Isaiah 49:6, Revelation 7:9, John 3:16, Galatians 3:28, Romans 10:12, Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20
The Gospel as such has no native country. He who goes out humbly with Christ in the world of all races will perpetually discover the multiple, but constant, relevance of what he takes. It takes a whol...
In one fascinating study some years ago, subjects were presented with evidence suggesting that there was a correlation between heavy caffeine use and breast cancer. Subjects were then asked to report ...
Matthew 5:18, John 1:1-14, Colossians 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, Philippians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:20-21
The great American statesman and president Thomas Jefferson was a man of science who did not believe in miracles but really liked Jesus. Unfortunately, right next to Jesus’ ethical teachings are stori...
John 3:8, Acts 1:8, John 16:7-15, Acts 2:4, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, Romans 8:14, Ephesians 5:18-19
In my experience, take the Holy Spirit out of the equation of your life and it spells boring. Add it into the equation of your life and you never know where you are going to go, what you are going to ...
John 8:32, 1 Samuel 18:20, John 4:1-26, John 3:1-21, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 John 1:7, Ephesians 4:25
It’s difficult for people to love the real you when you are covering up who you really are. We connect with others when we take our mask off and let others in.