Jesus Washing Feet: Why Humble Service Makes a Lot of Sense
What are we to make of the story of Jesus washing feet? This act was meant to give Jesus’ disciples a dramatic example of love to follow so that they could continue being like Jesus for each other after he had left the earth. The Story Here is the basic story of Jesus washing his […]
How Does Jesus Teach Disciple Makers to Conquer Fear?
I am constantly trying to learn skills and tactics to help me be a better dad, husband, writer, teacher, and how to be a better disciple maker. In my reading of Matthew 10, I came across Jesus’ teaching on how to conquer fear and immediately wanted to figure out how to put it into practice. […]
The Offensive Words of Jesus
Several years ago, I was confronted by a disgruntled woman about something I taught in a Bible study video. “What you said in that lesson offended me!” Looking for an apology, she explained what had upset her. My lesson was about the sanctity of marriage. To stress the benefits of a Godly marriage, I quoted […]
What Was Jesus’ Disciple Making Method?
It was a tough few weeks for me. I was juggling my responsibilities with the church I serve as lead pastor. I was working with a small group of senior pastors who were all committed to transitioning their churches to a disciple making focus. And I was trying to learn all that I could from […]
Sermon on the Mount: Building Your House
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But […]
Sermon on the Mount: “Lord, Lord”
For most of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been happy to dance in the fuzzy intersection between the “now” and the “not yet”—between the old age that is passing away and the new age that is breaking in. So, it often seems like what he says could apply to either this life or […]
Keep Speaking These Unspeakable Words
We’re discovering some words which used to be fine to talk about, but which now have become increasingly unspeakable. These aren’t cuss words; rather, they’re Bible words. One of these increasingly unutterable Bible words is sin. The culture might still talk about sin as a guilty food pleasure or as a periodic habit of gambling. But when it […]
Jesus Is Lord: On Finding Our Identity by Discovering the Identity of Jesus
What does it mean to declare that Jesus is Lord? The Greek word kurios is a word that can mean lord, master, or sir. It is also the Greek word which the translators of the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) used when translating YHWH, a Hebrew name of God connected with […]
