In John 4:35-36 Jesus said, “Look! I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.” What is the first thing Jesus asks us to do here? What does … Read more
Questions to Consider for the Morning of the Church Picnic Think about this: what are some of the most terrifying verses in the Bible? Which do you think is the MOST terrifying? In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who … Read more
There’s an illustration I heard many years ago. I’m sorry, but I don’t know who wrote it. It tells the story of shoe factory and it goes something like this … Imagine that there’s a large shoe factory in your home town. The management has invested great sums of money and many man-hours into the … Read more
I love the way Paul speaks to the Corinthians about their participation in the collection he was taking up for the impoverished saints in Jerusalem: “I am not saying this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love …” (2 Corinthians 8:8, NET). “I am not saying this as a command” … Read more
When the apostle Paul was taking up a collection for the suffering believers who lived in Jerusalem, he presented the Corinthians with two examples of generous giving. First, he used the example of the Macedonian churches – Philippi, Berea & Thessaloniki – who gave out of their poverty. They gave generously, even though they had … Read more
‘When the day is done,Down to earth, then, sinks the sun,Along with all that’s lost and won –When the day is done’ -Nick Drake- A Witness in Our Biology And so the day is done. Evening is a tender time – a time for offering the day back to my Keeper. What I’ve done this … Read more
Dear Church, This morning, I’m reposting a wonderful passage excerpted from Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge that I really wanted us to see. We’ve been talking about the challenges of walking with God at various times of the day: morning, afternoon and evening. This brother deals with the subject of walking with God … Read more
Nurse: “Doctor, the invisible man is in the waiting room.” Doctor: “Tell him I can’t see him right now.” Bud-dum! We’ve all heard the expression, ‘I must be seeing things!’ But truth be known, people who walk by faith are ‘seeing things,’ invisible things, all the time! In fact, that’s what it means to walk … Read more
In their last written words, the Apostles Peter and Paul felt it was important to warn the church of the grave dangers that lie ahead. In his final letter, Paul wrote: “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, … Read more
It’s been called one of the most important Christian books of the 20th century: H. Richard Niebuhr’s, Christ and Culture. I read it thirty years ago, then I read it in seminary, and I read it again last year. It’s astonishing to me that a book written in 1951 about something as ‘in the now’ … Read more