Did Matthew introduce the Magi to emphasize the Good News to foreigners? It’s not new for people to see their own kind as important, and to see foreigners as unworthy—maybe even to hate and persecute them. The Lord of the Bible sees that as a problem. When the Lord tells his people to care for the […]
To judge by the current content of our media, the hope of the world is that we destroy our perceived enemies, whether they be our own politicians or given sides in European or Near-Eastern wars. It’s us against them, winner take all—a fallen world view that has been inflicting suffering since Cain murdered Abel. A more Heavenly […]
The biggest obstacle to understanding the gospel of salvation is that we assume it is a religious answer to religious question: What must I do to deserve eternal life? Christ’s death for the undeserving is the obstacle we can’t get around.
“I had a church background, but the emphasis was on your sinfulness and your need to improve yourself. It was heavy-handed. It felt impossible and really didn’t offer any hope.” A recent graduate was telling me how her life was impacted by a Bible study she joined with friends. “For the first time I was […]
Christmas means God cares intimately about the details of our human struggle. A friend of ours is returning home to Asia after nearly a decade here with her family. Reflecting back on things that shaped her understanding, she said, “The first time I went to a church they said to welcome your neighbor. I wanted […]
One of my joys is to hear students say, “I had heard of the Bible before I came here, but I never knew how the whole story was connected. Now I understand why people believe it.” I develop studies to give students an overview of the Bible and its core message, because students ask for […]
In view of the Wednesday before Resurrection Day, this sermon goes into the reactions to Jesus in John 11 and 12. Find under the Sermons menu.
Psalm 23 speaks into the weary, the abused, the worried, the grieving. This may be the most familiar Psalm, but every time I meditate on it I see more. It’s about what it means to have the the Lord shepherding me so that I’m not missing something. to read this post tap here: Psalm […]
. . . This context is given not to upstage the good news, but to emphasize it. The Savior and Lord who brings joy for all has come to the neighborhood! He is the Glory in the most glorious of places, yet he comes to the least! He is the Fulfillment of the world, so […]
. . . This means that we’re talking about history, not mythology. It means that God is interested in the lives of real people. And it means that men such as Caesar Augustus have purposes for what they do, while God has other purposes for what they do. When we begin things, we may have […]
