Some people are excited for the new year. Some are skeptical that it will be any different. Others have given up hope altogether that things are doing anything but spiraling out of control. As believers, New Year’s Day, 2023, offers us an opportunity to make a declaration. We…
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There has been a lot of emphasis in recent decades on the importance of building one’s legacy, both in society at large and in the church. Just this week someone told me the sermon at their church last Sunday was about building their legacy. To be sure, there…
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Reading: John 6 The opening scene of John 6, the “feeding of the 5,000,” results in political unrest from which Jesus flees. Might this chapter have a message for believers today in our own season of political unrest? The people want to make Jesus king by force! Eating…
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Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Then Pilate said, “So you…
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Reading: Colossians 1:15-20 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.… 14 The Word…
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Reading: John 1, 2 [Note: We went through John 1:1-18 during the three weeks leading up to Christmas and began in the body of the Gospel this past Sunday. We will continue in John again this Sunday. There are some things, however, that I’d love to cover, but…
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Reading: John 4:31-34 The 1984 Wendy’s commercial, “Where’s the beef?”, has had lasting impact on our culture, leaving us with this phrase now used to question the real substance of anything. But long before Wendy’s asked this question, Jesus answered it. Jesus told us where the “beef” –…
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Reading: John 15:1-11 John 15 and Jesus’ description of Himself and the disciples as a vine and its branches is an amazing picture or metaphor of the relationship between Christ and His people. However, is it more than a metaphor? Does it communicate theological truth that goes beyond…
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Reading: John 3 Most Americans know who Simon Cowell is – former lead judge on American Idol, now X-Factor. Eager to be affirmed, contestants audition in front of judges who then critique them. Simon’s insults are what make the show. His affirmation is rare but the most prized.…
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Reading: Psalm 82, John 10 God presides in the great assembly (ESV: divine council); he renders judgment among the “gods” (Psalm 82:1) Psalm 82 begins in a way that seems a bit awkward to our Christian ears. Verse 1 could be rendered, “God stands among the gods, in…
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