November 2022

Courage To Be Counter-Cultural

In the Old Testament book of Daniel we find the example of some people who lived as a small minority in the midst of a wicked, pagan society that not only did not share their values, but who were often openly antagonistic toward them. However, For the sake of God’s name and for His glory […]



Courage In The Face of Need

When I first felt a calling to pastoral ministry, I knew I needed some formal Bible training and equipping, but there was a problem. It was a money problem. Seminaries were expensive, I had a pile of kids to provide for, and the income I was earning from my job at the time was barely […]



October 2022

Death Is A Bully

I love the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy accidentally kills the Wicked Witch by dousing her with water while trying to save the scarecrow who had been set on fire (not accidentally) by the witch. The whole land of Oz, which had been living under the fear-filled oppression of the witch, burst […]



Fear of the Unknown

Fear of the unknown is a particularly difficult form of fear because it refuses to take the shape of anything definite, real or concrete. If it did, it would no longer be properly a fear of the unknown but a fear of that thing. A fear of the unknown flourishes in the shadowy world of […]



Fear of Man

As we continue our study on fear and courage we’ll be spending some time with the Apostle Peter. Peter is one of the most fascinating personalities that we encounter in the New Testament, and unlike most of the other men who formed Jesus’ inner circle of disciples, we are actually given a lot of information […]



Fear Not

When she was told that her starving, peasant subjects had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette infamously quipped, “Let them eat cake.” This quote is commonly cited as proof that she was oblivious to the plight of the common people and was blithely indifferent to their troubles. I wonder, is it possible that someone might […]



The Love of A One-Another People

“… and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” How can we talk about […]



September 2022

The Challenges of Being A One-Another People

Colossians 3:12-17 is one of those portions of the Bible that speaks to us in a real-life, pragmatic way about the challenges that we will face in trying to become a one-another people, but it also speaks to the beauty that makes facing those challenges worth it. Give this short portion of scripture a read. […]



Hold Fast

Fellow Christian, you have been called to a life of striving. Living for Jesus in the midst of a fallen world means that all of your movement toward Christ and Christlikeness will be opposed strongly by a powerful current running in the opposite direction. Even now, the prevailing current of the culture and our own […]



Outdo

Romans 12:10   The first sentence of this verse contains two different Greek words for love. Love (philostorgos) one another with brotherly affection (philadelphia). What does it mean to philostorgos one another with philadelphia? And how do these Greek words for love differ from “agape,” that Greek word that we commonly associate with the sacrificial […]