Jesus’ Example of Servanthood and Humility Jesus knew his time had come. He had loved the disciples throughout his ministry. Now, before he went to the cross, he wanted to help them comprehend the full extent of his love. John says, “Now, He loved them to the very end.” (John 13:1b NLT) “So he got up from the table, took
Psalms is probably the most read book in the Bible. Though not my most read book, I’m with it a lot, and Psalms 8 is one of my favorites. Two of the best-known verses of Scripture are in this psalm. “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth” (v. 1), “What is man that You
In the economy of the Kingdom of God, many of the ways the followers of Jesus are invited to live are counter intuitive. For example, Jesus taught his students strange things like, “If you want to be first, then be last” and “If you want to be great, then serve.” We also see this counter-intuitive way of living in Jesus’
Shalom, the Hebrew word of greeting and parting, carries more weight than many imagine. Often translated as peace, many take it to simply mean ‘no fighting.’ In reality, shalom encompasses a set of values that extend beyond a mere absence of conflict. It’s a state of harmony within and without, something we all strive for in our work, daily life,
There are many connections and complementary images in Scripture. When I reflect on the meaning of following Christ and being his disciple, Jesus’s word comes clear, “If any wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). I wonder if this word was not clear in Paul’s mind when he
Last year, the headlines again pulled our attention to a way too common tragedy. Five policemen were involved in the beating and death of Tyre Nichols and were subsequently fired. Much of the story is told in the cameras of the policemen and the public camera at the scene of the arrest and beating. Even so, the legal battle which
Few things can bring animated conversation to the church like one which highlights spiritual gifts (charismata). Do we really get supernatural powers? Does the pastor have to have all of these? What about tongues? In Seamless, Chase Stancle offers us an accessible book steeped in years of practice. In writing this, he deftly reframes the conversation about spiritual gifts around
The Psalms is probably the most popular part of the Bible. Numerous religious and secular documents quote from it. It has been a significant part of literature and movies in our Western culture. It is a huge resource in Christian-Jewish worship. Know that the Lord is God indeed, without our aid he did us make. What kind of sentence is
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 In the Inspire Movement, the ministry that my wife and I share as Missioners, we teach four core values of discipleship that can be found as we look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels: – Seeking growth in our love for God
Let’s keep it clear. As Chrstians we are to be like our Father. I can’t leave that claim without at least a bit more reflection on who God is. The story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac is one of the most powerful, profound, and disturbing stories in the Bible. It is a story of promise…promise made, promise fulfilled.
Worship is often an understated matter for us church folks. Think about the last time you used the word “worship.” For many of us, it refers to the time of singing before the sermon at a church gathering. Some even call that gathering “worship.” For others, the last time we said the word worship, it was in reference to an
Scripture Focus: If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you
In the questions Jesus was often asked, two stand out. A young man of great wealth asked him, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). In another setting an expert of the law questioned, “Teacher, which one was the greatest commandment in the Law?” The first question, often phrased “What must I do to
In my last article I reflected on Paul’s emotional struggle as he wrote his letter to the Ephesians. He was filled with emotion as he thought of these new Christians, and in his mind, probably rehearsing his own Damascus Road experience. How could he say what he was feeling and thinking? What did he need to say? All he had
Scripture Focus: When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Abide in my love. When you obey my commandments, you abide in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have told you
“For the first time in my life, I had joined with Jesus’s compassion for someone who was sick and felt the power of God flow into another to make him well.” In their book Healing Prayer: God’s Idea for Restoring Body, Mind, and Spirit, David Chotka and Maxie Dunnam remind us that healing miracles still happen today. Healing miracles in
Scripture Focus: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die
Join me in your imagination. We are a part of a Christian congregation in Ephesus. At one of our gatherings, a fellow member reads a letter written by the great apostle, Paul. He is seeking to shepherd the new emerging Christian movement and he is praying for us. Hear him, now. I kneel in prayer to the Father, from whom
We transfer this mantle from our generation to the young, indicating that the responsibilities of the older generation will be caught up and carried on by the young, and that the spirit of today’s Elijahs will rest on today’s Elishas.” Nearly a decade ago these words rang across the retirement service as a retiring elder handed me a symbolic lantern.
Scripture Focus: If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains,
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