“My, my, look how much you’ve grown! I can hardly recognize you.” No child likes to hear those words at a family reunion. But tell those words to a growing believer in Jesus—especially one that you knew before she came to know the Lord. Suddenly, you’re encouraging them with grace. It’s one of the marks […]
Read More »“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” One of the tasks that Jesus gives the church is to bind and loosen. The metaphor relates to an ancient doorkeeper. This person held the keys to a large building and stood at the entrance watching those who came inside. He opened doors and closed […]
Read More »Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. After visiting Germany in the early 1990’s, I realized the power of faith in times of oppression. Behind the old “iron curtain,” the faith of German Christians was vibrant, bold, and faithful. Suddenly, the Christians who languished under the cloud of communism were […]
Read More »Were not our heart(s) burning with us…. In Luke 24:32, Jesus helps disciples dealing with unbelief. After his resurrection, he appears to them on the road in the midst of their grief. He interprets the scriptures for the disciples, and their heart (singular in the Greek language) burns within them. Something happens to the disciples […]
Read More »Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 This morning, we begin a new series called, “Think, Act, and Be” like Jesus. We’re studying the beliefs, practices, and fruit of a follower of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of […]
Read More »Faith, Food, Friday launches its fifth season with “Food, Food, Food” on September 18. This “lunch and learn” dialogue features the “God Squad,” a panel of religious leaders in our community: Rev. Betsy Ouellette-Zierden of Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel, Pastor Darrick McGhee of Bible Based Church, Father Tim […]
Read More »Belief forms the framework of a life built on Jesus. Building on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, the windows, doors, and walls of a Christian life are the doctrines that are entrusted to us. We learn, accept, and trust in God who gives them to us. Just as the apostles proclaimed salvation through Jesus, […]
Read More »The Gospel of Mark tells the story of a father whose son was demon-possessed. While the inner circle of disciples was watching Jesus’ transfiguration, the other disciples were in the valley dealing with a routine request for a healing. The father had tried to take the child to Jesus’ disciples. Jesus trained them to handle […]
Read More »Ten years ago, our church in Knoxville hosted approximately 30 evacuees from the Gulf Coast. Earlier in the week, like many other helpless Americans, we wanted to do something. Jay Hogewood, who was then pastor of University Baptist in Baton Rouge, had created a makeshift relief warehouse for evacuees in his area. I contacted him, […]
Read More »While on vacation in Colorado, we rafted down the Colorado River with another family from Illinois. Scott, a guide that sounded like “Mater” from the Disney movie Cars, prepared us for the trip. We practiced how to rescue someone from the water. If anyone went overboard, we were to grab him by the top of […]
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