We were pleasantly surprised to see some old friends walk into church this past Sunday. They were a couple we knew in the first church Ben pastored; interestingly enough, that church’s name was Valley Bible Church. We had a great time reminiscing about those early years. It wasn’t long before...

For this week’s afterthought, I want to share a few short observations that struck me about our passage this week which we didn’t have time to fully explore on Sunday. First, it is not only in baptism that we see a picture and symbol of death and resurrection. God has...

One of the grand celebrations of the Christian faith is baptism. Several times a year, we perform baptisms in obedience to our Lord to “Make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:18). In so doing, we are graced to hear...

The circle is only 9 meters across. The two wrestlers who tensely shift about one another are not going to run away. They watch for an advantage: the slightest of missteps, a dropped shoulder, an unbalanced stance, a distracted gaze. There it is. An overextension and an exposed torso. The...