In an ideal world, everyone would always perfectly pay attention to every word said by their preacher. However, we preach to people with ever-shrinking attention spans who are carrying stressors, […]
Throughout history, people have looked for someone to stand in their place—an advocate before a ruler, a mediator before a judge, even a representative before God. That instinct runs deep, […]
The jungle air hung heavily that Sunday morning as worship echoed through Emmanuel’s small church building. What had begun as a season of incredible promise—with new believers coming to Jesus […]
Have you ever been in a situation where you simply could not solve the problem yourself? It could be a broken relationship with a parent, child, or friend. It could […]
The New Testament begins very Jewishly. After listing Jesus’ Jewish genealogy going back to Abraham himself, Matthew explains how Jesus’ birth fulfills what the Jewish prophet Isaiah had prophesied long […]
I was blessed to discover the riches of reading the Bible around the age of 16, and although I cannot directly recall the first time I read that footnote to […]
A few years ago, a family friend jokingly called me a philistine. In a modern context, the term is meant to imply a person’s willful ignorance toward culture. Being the […]
I love words. I love how they sound, how they interact, and how they bring your thoughts to life. I love words so much that every time I write something, […]
Luke 2 is the most famous Christmas passage in the Bible. Every Christmas pageant is based on it. Every nativity set is inspired by it. Linus even quotes from it […]
To speak of holy Baptism primarily as a legal necessity is to speak of it in a way largely foreign to the biblical witness. It certainly misses the register of […]
You need to make a big congregational announcement about your facilities, budget, hiring decisions, or a theological change. An email might be tacky and word of mouth feels dangerous. This […]
Where do you find Jesus’ birth in the Bible? The answer is the Gospels, but which ones? The two Gospels which begin with Jesus’ birth narratives are Matthew and Luke. […]