Yesterday, we retraced Jesus’ steps in Galilee over a brief three-year period of time in the first century. Today, we crossed into new territory. We were like biblical time travelers, spanning centuries of tribal history in just a few hours. At 9:00 a.m. we crossed into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the Sheik Hussein […]
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The Sea of Galilee is the stage for so many performances in Jesus’ ministry. He was full of surprises for the disciples and the crowds. Today, we boarded the boat and journeyed together through so many exciting places on and around the Sea. We even had a few surprises of our own along the way. […]
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Today was homecoming day. We traveled to the regions that Jesus knew best– Nazareth and the surrounding countryside. We visited Jesus’ hometown as well as Sepphoris, the capitol of Galilee during Jesus’ life. Sepphoris is a 10-mile walk from Nazareth and the traditional birthplace of Mary, Jesus’ mother, and one of the cities where Joseph […]
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Lift up your heads, O gates and be lifted up, O ancient doors that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7 We began the day at the ancient port city of Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean Sea. We visited ruins of an amphitheater, hippodrome (horse and chariot racing stadium), aqueduct, harbor, and the […]
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For the next eleven days, I’ll be blogging from Israel and Jordan. Rhonda Smith and I are leading a group of twenty-two on a pilgrimage to Galilee, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, Masada, Amman, and Petra. Please follow us on twitter as well. After a safe arrival in Tel-Aviv, we met our guide, Yair “Jayah” […]
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One of the fun things about living in a college town is that I’m always reminded of the adventure of faith. People change their plans because God speaks, and they follow. A college student changes majors, changes universities, or goes a totally different direction in life because they are disciples. During Advent, one of our […]
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Faith is an adventure of relationships, and sometimes the first step in a relationship is the hardest one to take. This past year, we’ve embarked on a wonderful journey together. Where will the people take us in 2014? If the Holy Spirit’s work is any indicator, no one ever really knows. God opens doors, and […]
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On Tuesday, I wanted to have a little fun with our orange and blue neighbors to the North. Recognizing that we have a few Auburn faithful at First Baptist, I thought it might be interesting to see how FBC Auburn was preparing for Monday night. Little did I know that a few other people might […]
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Resolutions are so much fun this time of year. We know we’re not going to complete them, but it sure is fun talking about them. Why do we break them? Dan and Chip Heath’s studies have shown that resolutions are made for defeat. They’re designed to make us feel good about setting them but do […]
Read More »One of our family traditions each Christmas has been to see a living nativity pageant, a dramatic reenactment in biblical costume of Christ’s birth. For Drake’s first Christmas, Parker and I went to see the pageant; Drake and Kelly stayed home. Parker’s buddy Zeb, who is four years older than Parker, played the significant role […]
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