Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Jesus Did Not Come to Abolish the Law and the Prophets Too many people who read and study the Bible focus on the New Testament and dismiss the Old as no longer relevant. Yet we are wise to embrace the Old Testament. When we do, we’ll develop a greater understanding of God and who he […]
We’ve Lost Christmas as a Spiritual Celebration. Let’s Not Lose Easter Too Recently some groups have banned Easter egg hunts—not the activity but the name. Concerned pundits decry this as political correctness gone awry or the timid majority kowtowing to the vocal minority. Although “spring egg hunt” sounds lame, this new label doesn’t dismay me. […]
Without Good Friday, There Would be No Easter At one time, my dad received his paycheck every other week, on the last day of the workweek. With a smile, he called each of these paydays good Friday. (And he called the other Fridays Passover!) Dad enjoyed good Friday twenty-six times a year. Some years the […]
Celebrate Jesus for Who He Is and What He Did Palm Sunday mark’s Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It celebrates his arrival. It occurs only a few days before his arrest and execution, and it happens just one week before his resurrection from the dead, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday. All four of the […]
Discover Why Small Groups Often Fall Short of Meeting Expectations I’ve been in small groups, I’ve led small groups, and I’ve overseen a church’s small group ministry. Small groups have the potential to connect people, helping them on their faith journey and better navigate life. Yet small group failure seems a more common outcome. Don’t […]
The People of Israel Ask Samuel To Intercede for Them Throughout the Old Testament, the Philistines show up as a recurring nemesis for God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel. The Bible mentions the Philistines 191 times in seventeen of the Old Testament’s books. In most of these cases the Philistines are doing something to […]
The Answer Comes from Culture and Not Scripture In answering the question, what day of the week is the seventh? let’s look and see what the Bible says. The Days of the Week The various translations of the Bible never list the days of the week as we understand them now. There is no mention […]
Study Scripture Circularly and Not Linearly When most people read the Bible, they do so linearly. They read a passage and form their understanding of what it means. They set this determination in their minds. They may even apply it to their lives. But this is not the best way of how to read the […]
Moving Toward Good Friday and Easter This week, many in the Christian community will observe Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season known as Lent, a solemn journey towards Easter. For some followers of Jesus, Ash Wednesday is little more than a notation on their calendar, whereas, for others, it is a meaningful spiritual […]
Seek Someone to Inform Your Life and Actions One time when meeting with a young man, he admitted to me his struggle to know what it was to be masculine in a God-honoring way. “I just want a good male role model,” he lamented. I immediately knew two things from his complaint. First, he didn’t […]