This morning I’m reposting a wonderful blog that Jennifer Rothschild wrote back in February of 2016. It beautifully considers the story of Hosea and Gomer and wrestles with the idea of how we far too often throw love away. As always, I’ve included reflective questions at the end. Enjoy! P. Gene The Incredible Scandal of … Read more
Have you ever heard the sound of God sighing within you? He lives in you, if you’ve come to Jesus by faith in who He is and what He’s done. Paul calls it a mystery – and it has to be the greatest mystery in human history: that believers have become the very dwelling place … Read more
Parents want the very best for our children. We raise them, love them, nurture them, guide them, pray for them, and pray for them and then pray for them again! But many a broken-hearted parent has considered the path of a wayward son or daughter and wondered, ‘What more could I have done?’ It might … Read more
‘If God can do anything, can He create a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it,’ asks the clever sceptic. ‘Maybe not, but He can certainly create one heavy enough to drop on your irreverent head,’ my snarky flesh wants to answer! Augustine was famously asked by a student what God was doing before … Read more
‘Be practical!’ ‘Application, application, application!’ In seminary I learned that the key to preaching an effective sermon is practical application. Today, the focus of sermons is usually the audience: ‘What will he or she hear and will it matter to them personally?’ But this, I think, says more about the day in which we live … Read more
In 1 Timothy Paul tells of a shipwreck. Not of a first century wooden ship piling her hull upon the rocks, mind you, but a shipwreck nonetheless. And one no less terrifying than any of the nautical disasters that have become so famous. “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with … Read more
In Luke 15, a conflict is about to bust out between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus is becoming popular – too popular – and with all the wrong kinds of people. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him, “Luke tells us, “And the Pharisees and the scribes … Read more
In reading through the Gospels, it’s virtually impossible to miss the compassion of Jesus. It’s everywhere on display. It’s what drove Him to seek the lost, provide for their needs, heal their illnesses and urge them to Himself that they might be saved. The lesson of Jesus’ compassion was not lost on the early church. … Read more
Before He ascended into Heaven, the Lord Jesus told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit who was about to come. The Spirit was already “with” them, Jesus said, but He would soon be “in” them, and “in” them “forever”! The coming of the Holy Spirit would manifest itself in two profound … Read more
In Luke 14, Jesus made a provocative and troubling statement to the many who’d begun to accompany Him as His popularity increased. He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be … Read more