About 300 years after the life of Christ, a thriving church in the city of Laodicea was remodeling. Every aspect of the church architecture was carefully considered, from the orientation of the building, to the number of pillars, to the designs on the walls and alcoves. Symbols representing the disciples...

In recent weeks, VBC has been studying the offices of Elder and Deacon in 1 Timothy. Chapter 3 gives us a breakdown of the qualifications for those who are qualified to serve as elders and deacons. We have taken this opportunity to outline the New Testament teaching on eldership and...

What is the most important thing you can do for your spiritual leaders? One might think showing support, encouraging, or volunteering to serve is most important. But the most important thing you can do for your church leaders is to pray for them. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 urges Christians to pray...

My favorite Christmas hymn is “Angels From the Realms of Glory.” I love the tune; I love the words. Each stanza progressively tells the story of redemption. It is rich in biblical allusions, from creation to the birth of Christ to the return of Christ. On December 24, 1816, James...

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens/bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens/brown paper packages tied up with string/these are a few of my favorite things … ’Tis the season for Christmas music, and for some reason, this classic from The Sound of Music has been folded into the rotation....

In this Advent season, we look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior and the second advent—the return of Christ. We as Christians also strive to live godly lives, and part of living a godly life is putting our absolute trust in Him in all His ways. Can we...

It was wonderful to have a Sunday praising God for who He is and what He has done in our lives and giving thanks to Him for all the blessings He has given us. One hymn we sang this last week was based on an old Swedish poem written by...

When I imagine the first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony, I picture long benches laden with food. Dozens of faces, both European and Wampanoag, contentedly tucking in for a meal after such a difficult first year learning how to survive off the land and through the winter. An interesting fact...

I’m enjoying – truly enjoying – the adventure of being a dad to a teenage daughter (soon to be two teenage daughters). It is a great privilege to love, lead, and team up with my daughters through this revelatory season of life. We’ve begun (I know, I know, I’m still...

Have you run a virus scan lately? You might answer, "Sure, my computer was running sluggish, so I ran a scan and found malware from an email attachment. The scan took care of it, and I'm up and running again." But I'm not talking about your computer; I'm talking about...

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) It is true that we...

Few things are more American than the spirit of plucky pragmatism. It is in our genes, it would seem, to imagine every problem is solvable with a little determination and some out-of-the-box thinking. We’ve explored the bottom of the oceans, walked on the moon, seen the rise of the world’s...

A dog is not a person. We have a puppy called Blaze, so I know this. Blaze is a dog. However, he is a bit like a teenager at this point in his training. The problem is that, unlike a person, he does not have a moral conscience. So I...

Dear men of VBC, I want to invite you to the kick-off BBQ of our Men’s Leadership Initiative. This event is Friday, Sept. 29, at 6 pm. Please sign up at spokanevbc.org/events and RSVP under “Men’s Leadership Initiative Kick-Off.” We are inviting all men to the Leadership Initiative. You might think, “But I’m...

I have come to love Psalm 78. It is such a down-to-earth, painfully honest description of a great God doing what He inexplicably loves to do – being gracious to petty sinners. If you have also enjoyed the Psalm and are continuing to meditate on it, there are some impressive...

When we were back from Trieste, Italy, on a 6-month “Home Assignment” in 2011, we enrolled our older three children in school for a semester. I remember chatting with the secretary in the office about what we’d been doing as a family in Italy while filling out the necessary paperwork....

Many years ago I had to confront my boss. I agonized over it because I had no experience confronting a brother in Christ. But this involved my family, and I knew I had to talk to him. So I prayed. I was a full-time seminary student working two jobs. Neither...

From the city of Ephesus to the port city of Troas was a journey, on foot, of 349km (about 217 miles). In the spring this would have taken about 12 days of hard walking. From Troas, a boat across the Thracian Sea to Neapolis in Macedonia would have only taken...

The sowing of a seed is such a common thing that it sometimes escapes us how marvelous and counter-intuitive it is. Imagine being asked to sow seeds if you had never heard of the idea or seen it done before! With a field of nothing but lifeless dirt all scratched...

I was in my final summer as a seminary student when I conducted my first funeral. The grandfather of a little boy Tara cared for had died, and his wife asked me if I would do his funeral. We had lived in a guest house for two years in exchange...