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Luke records a Sabbath day when Jesus was invited to the home of a prominent Pharisee for a meal. A first-century meal like this would have resembled an ancient game of Musical Chairs. Guests tried to guess their place at the table based on their importance and who else had been invited. Naturally, Jesus took the lowest seatavailable and observed this embarrassing shuffle. When the meal was ready to begin, a man with abnormal swelling was seated right in front of Jesus. This man would have been visibly ill and since it was the Sabbath, it was clear that the…

Jill and I host a small group in our home. We share in great fellowship, a meal together, and then a little devotional time called S.O.A.P. This is a practice we learned in Wayne Cordeiro’s excellent book, “The Divine Mentor.” Essentially, we read a scripture together (S), offer our observations (O), discuss the practical application of the passage to our lives (A), and then share requests and pray together (P). It’s a simple practice and I commend it to you if you’re looking for a way to move your fellowship time to things spiritual. This week we read Mark 2:1-12. It was…

Practicing Lent In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus is right in the middle of The Sermon on the Mount. His sermon begins with The Beatitudes, which turn conventional wisdom upside down, and goes on from there, inviting us to upend everything we’d always considered normal in favor of his in-breaking Kingdom and its priorities.  In Jesus’ kingdom, murder isn’t only wrong, but so are the hateful thoughts that precede it.  Likewise, adultery isn’t just immoral, but so are the thoughts which lead up to the act.  When we are mistreated, we are invited not to retribution, but to reconciliation.  Then, Jesus turns…

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14 Have you ever climbed a fence? It’s been a while, but I remember climbing fences when I was a kid. The goal (even though I didn’t say this to myself at the time) was to get on the other side so I could keep going. Many of…

“The Voice” Luke 3 records the story of Jesus’ Baptism like this:‘When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he waspraying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”’ Later in Jesus’ ministry, as documented in Matthew 17 at his Transfiguration, we read:‘…there he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light… a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from…

Things in the Garden started so beautifully–the unspoiled beauty of creation; living face to face with the Creator. But what began in such primeval perfection was ruined by carnal rebellion. From that moment, all creation groaned under the weight of separation from God. What, or better Who, could mend this gaping rift?You and I know that Jesus was and is the only perfect remedy for such a circumstance. It is Jesus the Son of God whose death reached all the way to God; and it is Jesus the Son of Man whose death reached all the way to you and…

Pastor, are you a thermostat or a thermometer? Get the idea? No?Here is the question: do you set the “temperature” or try to read the “temperature?” In Luke 4, Jesus has just returned from the wilderness temptation. He entered a first-century Judaism that had grown stale. Though God broke the silence of the intertestamental period with his birth in Bethlehem, the melody of redemption had taken some thirty years to be heard. Jesus returned to Nazareth and at synagogue, was given the scroll to read. He read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has…

Yesterday Jill and I had the chance to visit a unique ministry site in Carrol, Ohio. A ministry led by Pastor Kevin Seymour called, Three Strands, meets at this location. The setting is kind of a biker hangout and fight club all together. Most of the interior is painted black, but a closer look reveals signs of the gospel everywhere. The walls have some murals that depict salvation and the battle of good versus evil. There are cold water therapy tanks that double as baptismals when a biker or fighter comes to Christ. The boxing ring has “Jesus Saves” on…

On January 7th, I wrote the following: “…Today we celebrate God’s revelation to us. The Gentile kings knew it, God the Father announced it, and Jesus gave his closest friends a glimpse of it. May the glory of Jesus shine on our minds and hearts today.” The next morning I awoke to the reminder that 68 years ago, missionary to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, was speared to death by the very people he came to win. Elliot and five other missionaries had a covenant to do no harm to those among whom they ministered. When the Auca warriors lifted their spears, the men…

We are quickly approaching the Day of Epiphany on January 6th, a day when the church has historically remembered the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Many cultures have celebrations on the Day of Epiphany, or as it is often called, Three Kings Day.  One of the traditions is to share a Three Kings Cake, baked to resemble a crown, with various fruits and candies representing the jewels of a crown.  Often, baked inside the cake is a baby Jesus figurine.  The person who finds the figurine in their piece of cake is…