Why did God allow the fall into sin? And why did God create the world, knowing that his perfect creation would soon be corrupted? The entire Bible is the story of God’s work to restore his fallen creation. Through much pain and suffering on his part, climaxing with the crucifixion of Jesus, God has been… Read More ›
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42) One of the primary things we do as a congregation is pray for one another. And it’s not simply one another whom we pray for, but for those around us too. We pray for… Read More ›
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42) There’s just something about food. Imagine going to your relatives’ house for Thanksgiving. The house is packed. Every chair is full. They even have to bring in some folding chairs. A couple kids are… Read More ›
Do you remember the old children’s song about the skeleton bones? The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone. The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone. The knee bone’s connected to the leg bone. … And eventually, The neck bone’s connected to the head bone. (And something about dancing skeletons.) Well, what happens if… Read More ›
You know how the internet learns things about you and shows you advertisements it thinks you’re interested in—like when you google the word “marriage” and all you see for the next two months is ads for diamond rings? Well, a funny thing happens when the internet learns that you are a pastor. You start to… Read More ›
What if I would have tried out for the golf team instead of track? What if I had apologized twenty years earlier? What if I hadn’t even had that first drink? We all have those “what if?” moments in our lives—those times when we wonder what would have happened if we had made different choices…. Read More ›
“According to the Word of God, the congregation is the right form of the Kingdom of God on earth.” Think about that statement and what it means. First of all, is it correct? And if it is correct, what implications would it have for us? This statement is the first (and primary) fundamental principle of… Read More ›
Whenever we confess the Apostles’ Creed (which is basically every week except communion Sundays, when we use the Nicene Creed) we confess this Biblical truth that Jesus descended into hell. But we don’t really talk about it very much. I suppose the primary reason for this is simply because there is only one Scripture passage… Read More ›
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you? Notice I didn’t ask, “What does it mean to you.” That would be too subjective. When we talk about the resurrection of Jesus, we are talking about a real, historical event with eternal implications. So we ask, “What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you?” Because it does impact… Read More ›
A very bad man was getting what he deserved, and he knew it. He said to another criminal, “We are receiving the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). He was speaking of Jesus, who was hanging on a death instrument between these two criminals. I suppose both… Read More ›