-
Jesus certainly has the case for the worst earthly self-help speaker to ever walk this planet. From speaking in opposition to worldly treasures to his overall humility while traveling and performing miracles, modern society would not see the way Jesus lived or died as ideal. I fear this is even true inside the Church. Then…
-
Suppose God simply removed all our difficulties and temptations in one go. It would solve the problem. It would be like being back in the garden of Eden. Yet actually there were challenges to face in that garden: a world to subdue and a serpent to resist. People don’t grow to maturity by sitting on…
-
‘There,’ says the architect, ‘this building is strong.’ Yes, sir, but it must be tested. Let the wind blow against it. There is a lighthouse out at sea. It is a calm night; I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm. The tempest must howl about it, and then I will know whether it will…
-
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable…
-
Putting myself on a writing schedule is getting kinda tiring but I know that it’s good for me and I know it will make me better at writing and will make me better at talking about theology and the Bible. One of the habits I’ve picked up recently is listening to the Ask NT Wright…
-
This Wednesday is two different holidays. One of them I’m excited about and the other one is literally my least favorite holiday. Every year, Ash Wednesday signals the start of the Lenten season which ends on Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of our savior, Jesus Christ. Easter remains important in Protestant churches but…
-
I recently read a book for one of my graduate classes that deeply impacted me and spoke to a topic that me and my friends discuss frequently. Apathy. Particularly, spiritual apathy. This book is called The Scandal of Evangelical Conscience by Ronald J. Sider. Shameless plug, go read it. If you buy it, don’t buy…
-
Last night I got back from a youth ministry retreat and proceeded to sleep for fourteen and a half hours. Why? Because I sacrificed my sleep this weekend so I could minister to the sixteen students that I brought, as well as serve the district that I work on. Do I regret it? No. Since…
-
I write this sitting in a library at the university that I currently attend grad school at, the catch is, I attend online. This is only the second time I’ve come to campus to work in the library, I have access to the student wifi and I’m able to checkout book. It only makes sense…
-
Last week I talked about one of the things we receive from the Holy Spirit, our Spiritual Gifts. We receive these gifts alongside salvation and eventually, the Fruits of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul is the person we can thank for our list of the Fruits of the Spirit, which he provided in his letter…