Despair is an ugly word. If you've ever been in despair or tried to console someone in despair, you know the dark, dark void of despair. It becomes a hole from which one cannot escape. There is despair when there is no money to pay the bills or buy food...
I’m thankful for the opportunity we had this week to spend time reflecting on the meaning and goodness of Communion. There is something moving, and indeed mysterious, about the uniting of the body of Christ in the remembrance of His sacrifice. Moreover, this meal connects us not only with those...
Psalm 145:8-10 The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. The familiar words of...
I know of a young pastor in the Midwest who ran into a buzzsaw. The buzzsaw was a woman who was the matriarch of the church. By matriarch, I mean she ran things. Even though there were elders in the church, the woman in question wielded great power, such that...
Is it actually wrong to eat meat that has been associated with idolatry, or is that just a local cultural tradition we can ignore? Is it sinful to take a brother to civil court, or was that only a suggestion for Corinth? Do we need to follow the instructions of...
1 Corinthians 10:13 is perhaps the most recognizable verse in the Bible to help us with the temptation to sin and achieve victory over it. Here’s a simple outline I could have preached, for it uses parallel Scripture to make the same point. So here is another look at temptation...
There's not much positive to be found in the story of the miserable failure of the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings. Paul's New Testament summary of the account he gives to the Corinthians is a tightly-packed catalog of forty years of failure (1 Corinthians 10:1-11). The new nation of Israel...
I’ve been enjoying staring at this painting of Glacier National Park for a while. Something about the lighting and the composition is compelling. There’s a beckoning to the rays coming from behind the trees. The rocks in the bottom-left balance the shadows on the right. The soaring mountains in the...
The idea of our “Afterthoughts” column is to revisit something from the previous week’s message that we either did not have time to cover or on which we would like to expand. This week, I’d like to offer a few “random thoughts” on this past Sunday. I hope they will...
She heard yelling and a commotion from the booth next to the Dutch Cheeseman’s booth where she was working for the weekend. The European Market was in town and booths had been set up right along the waterfront between the city’s main square and the pier, aptly named “Audace” or...
For the past couple of Sundays, we have been in the text of 1 Corinthians 8. The issue in Corinth was eating meat sacrificed to idols. Perhaps the most difficult interpretive question is this: “What is today’s cultural equivalent to eating meat sacrificed to idols?” There are actual equivalents in parts of...
"Worship rises or falls with our concept of God," said A.W. Tozer. Our understanding of God will indeed determine our worship of Him. If our knowledge of God is small, our worship will be impoverished; if our understanding of God is big, our worship will be grand and expansive. The...
The portion of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we looked at on Sunday can be hard to hear for many. In walking through the different scenarios of broken hearts, lost loved ones, and shattered marriages, Paul takes many of us on a journey through our most painful memories. Sadness, guilt,...
Mac or PC? Tea or Coffee? Mountain hike or day at the beach? Coke or Pepsi? Republican or Democrat? Analog or digital? Bach or The Beatles? Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings? We live in a world constant and often very strong preferences for this or that. In...
The Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade should be roundly celebrated in America. For nearly fifty years, abortion on demand has been the "law of the land." Christians must recognize that a nation that assents to the killing of unborn children cannot escape the notice and judgment of...
“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart.” —Alexander Solzhenitsyn The Greek philosophy of dualism has found its way into much of western culture. Plato's understanding of reality divides the world into the material...
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love which with He loved us," Ephesians 2:4 There are many verses in the Bible that start with the conjunction but. This verse is compelling. The previous verses remind us we were dead in our sins and formerly walked in disobedience....
Our Savior once taught, as He often did, in the presence of certain Pharisees. These men were experts in their understanding of the Scriptures and they were the first to boast of their superior spiritual zeal. When Jesus at another time described the hypothetical prayer of a Pharisee congratulating himself...
It’s graduation season, and another batch of young men and women is preparing to leave our youth ministry and move into the next season of life with the new responsibilities, opportunities, dangers, and joys it will hold. Though it does not compare to the experience of our parents, I can’t...
The night before Jesus went to the cross He taught the disciples the importance of clean feet. Getting up from the table, Jesus took a basin of water, wrapped Himself in the towel of a servant, and went from dirty foot to dirty foot – wetting, wiping, drying – as...