Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
Jesus does three things to complete what the Old Testament started Jesus draws people to him. The words he speaks and the hope he communicates attract them. Some people assume he had come to replace the Old Testament Law and the work of the prophets. Instead, Jesus fulfills it. Jesus doesn’t come to do away […]
Balance Old Testament Commands with New Testament Freedom Psalm 15 opens with one essential question, phrased in two ways, that most everyone asks, either out loud or to themselves. In this Psalm, David asks God, “What must I do to live with you?” The next four verses give us the answer. Actually, it’s a series […]
Pray That God Will Protect Us from Harm Do you ever ask God to protect you from evil? You can. It’s biblical. It’s part of my morning routine, and based on what I’m about to share, I want to be more intentional about making this request each day. There are two key prayers in the […]
The Bible Should Inform Our Actions, Not Justify Our Habits Christianity has its traditions and religious practices. We often persist in them with unexamined acceptance. And if we do question our behaviors, we can often find a verse in the Bible to justify them. But that doesn’t make them right. The Lens of Scripture We […]
Pastor Compensation For the most part, the church of today is an institution. Institutions require structure and leadership; self-perpetuation is essential—regardless of cost. For an institution to work, it needs paid staff. That’s why local pastors receive a salary: to keep the institution of church functioning and viable. To pay your minister follows the Old […]
Carefully Choose the Messages You Hear I listen to a lot of podcasts each week. Since I work at home and my wife doesn’t, I often eat lunch by myself. This is an ideal time to listen to podcasts. I also listen when I take my daily walk—at least each day when the weather is […]
Don’t Do Church Wrong I think we’re doing church wrong. At first I assumed it was just me, but today’s church is stuck in a rut, an Old Testament rut. We follow an Old Testament model for church. Moses’s Method: The Old Testament Model When God gave Moses the Law, he established some key expectations […]
A Lesson in Reacting to the Unexpected In college I heard an account about a struggling church who hired a minister to help them grow. He was full of energy, enthusiasm, and ideas. In no time he connected with the local community. They responded by showing up for church on Sunday morning and for the […]
Reclaim Our Practice of Communion from a Biblical Context In their practice of Communion some churches allow children to take Communion (the Eucharist) and others don’t. I’ve seen both occur at various worship services, but I don’t know which practice is more common. A similar consideration is the issue of closed Communion versus open. For […]
God Already Knows the Outcome of the Choices We Will Make People debate the issue of free will versus predestination. That is, do we make our own decisions or has God predetermined the outcome? The answer is yes. Both have an element of truth to them. And they can comfortably coexist without being in conflict. […]