“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.” (Gen. 12:4a) As we continue to follow Jesus through this season of Lent, we meet one of the first followers of God: Abram.  Abram is often referred to as the “father of the faithful” because of his willingness to leave a [...]

“Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)  In one of the more [...]

“But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.” (Matthew 17:7-8) This is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany and on it; we mark the great manifestation of Jesus’ glory – the Transfiguration.  It must [...]

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.”  [...]

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we [...]

Are we encouraging laypeople to embrace their work as ministry and vocation?  Recently, Art Lindsley of the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics listed five ways that pastors can help laity understand that their work as meaning and it is the primary way that they serve Christ.  Lindsley says first, lose the “higher calling” language.  [...]

My friend, Dr. David King of the Lake Institute recently cited the work of Rene Bekkers and Pamala Wiepking.  Those authors did an exhaustive study of the science of generosity.  In their report, they discovered eight primary reasons that people give.  They are: Awareness of Need; Being asked; Benefits (things which you receive in return, [...]

“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”  (I Cor. 2:9-10)  Echoing Isaiah, Paul speaks some truly beautiful [...]

“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in [...]

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:  ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, [...]