verse4today: As the Lord said to Moses may he speak to us: "I have seen..., I have heard..., and I have come to rescue you.... (Exodus 3:7-8).
Posted on 2012-02-01 via Twitter
Have you ever been pushed out of your comfort zone? Let me tell you about an unforgettable time when I was pushed out of my comfort zone. I was raised by loving parents in a manner similar to many of you. I was raised a Sabbatarian, that is, I was taught to treat Sunday, the Lord's Day, like the Sabbath Day of the Old Testament. Sunday was a day to attend worship services, both morning and … Read More …
Since September 11, 2001, we have heard the words "terrorist" or "terrorism" more times than we can count. And, since that infamous date, those words have become so emotionally and politically charged that they have been used to provoke fear in the hearts and minds of those who hear them. So, by referring to someone as a "terrorist" or a policy or action as "terrorism," we incite the fear the words were meant to describe.Narrowly understood, … Read More …
God blessed me and my wife, Debbie, with a tremendous Labor Day weekend, one that involved three gatherings with our children and grandchildren. The finale took place at our home and involved a great post-dinner discussion about life, church, and ministry. This discussion even included a critique of some forms of American Evangelicalism. I shared my conviction that some American Evangelicals seem to function as binitarians, not Trinitarians. In other words, they don't seem to afford … Read More …
My first blog exploring the life of a Reformed Charismatic was picked up by The Network, where I received some great suggestions for continued study (like Sovereign Grace Ministries and James K.A. Smith's Thinking in Tongues: Pentecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy) and some excellent comments which helped me refine my thinking a bit. In particular, I was encouraged to add a few points to my original list. Here they are. 6. As a Reformed Charismatic, I … Read More …
Parker Palmore, in his book Courage to Teach, writes that “the hallmark of the community of truth is not psychological intimacy or political civility or pragmatic accountability, though it does not exclude these virtues. ... The hallmark of the community of truth is a web of communal relationships and we can know reality only by being in community with it.” (95) As I read those words, I wondered if something similar could be said about the … Read More …
While on vacation I read the new, 500 plus page biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. It is a masterpiece. Not only does the book include splendid writing but it also tells the story of one of the greatest Christians of the twentieth-century. I found the book so inspiring that as soon as I finished it I began reading it again. Having said that, I won't surprise you by recommending it to you. I have … Read More …
In his masterful teaching describing our lives as disciples, Jesus compares us to sheep and assures us that he is the Great Shepherd (John 10). While we may be offended temporarily by the comparison to silly sheep, we receive encouragement from the promise that Christ is our Shepherd. Like the Psalmist, we testify that the Lord is our shepherd and, therefore, we shall not be in want. However, we often overlook an essential piece of Jesus’ … Read More …
This past Sunday I preached on Jesus' flight to Egypt and the slaughter of the two-year-old and younger boys of Bethlehem. For more three decades of preaching, I have stayed away—intentionally or unintentionally, I am not sure—from that tragic story, but this year there was no getting around it. I had chosen—I trust by the leading of the Spirit—to begin the new year with a series of sermons from the Gospel of Matthew. I labeled the … Read More …
A few Easters ago, following the example of many preachers, I offered a sermon in which I asked “Are you a Good Friday Christian or an Easter Christian?.” The premise of the message was that, from time to time, we live as if Christ were still in the grave, instead of living as followers of him who walked out of the tomb and ascended to heaven from which he reigns as King of Kings and Lord … Read More …
My worlds are converging. As pastor of the Living Hope Church, I have been searching for Advent meditations to share with my congregation. Last night, in my Church History class at Northern Seminary, I offered a brief introduction to German mysticism of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This morning my daily reading brought me to an Advent meditation by a German mystic named Joannes Tauler, a fourteenth-century Dominican priest. Those three streams converged leading me to reprint a portion of … Read More …
When envisioning the shape of the weekly gathering of Living Hope Church, I thought that at least once a month individuals should be encouraged to share testimonies of how God has worked in their lives. Over the years I have heard several individuals share testimonies during Sunday morning gatherings and, with a few exceptions, found them to be personally encouraging and God glorifying. Plus, I had a hunch that people would benefit from hearing that the … Read More …
Today is a guide for daily devotions published by Back to God Ministries. I grew up on Today, though during the years of my youth it appeared under a different title. My parents used it as a tool for table devotions. Each devotion includes a verse from scripture, a brief meditation, and a prayer. The distinct parts make it easy to share the responsibility of leadership. One child can read the scripture, another the meditation, and another the prayer. The format hasn't changed … Read More …
"Spies who had been facing years of incarceration in the US and Russia came in from the cold (this past Friday) as they traveled in opposite directions around the globe.” Ten headed eastward to Moscow and four, who had been in detention in Russia, began journeys to new lives in the West. “The extraordinary exchange unfolded... after all 10 spies, whose deep-cover ring had been blown open by US authorities nearly two weeks ago, pled guilty in … Read More …
A bunch of books have been written and sermons preached about discipleship, but Joshua offers a description that may be as good as any other. One day he called out the Reubenites, the Gadites, and but half of the tribe of Manasseh. Once assembled, he encouraged them to follow the Lord with these words: "Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold fast to him, and serve him with all your heart and all … Read More …
Who names a son "Judas"? The answer is clear: No one! Yet, who names a son "Peter"? The answer is just as clear: a whole lot of people. Why would we never name a son "Judas," but choose to name a son "Peter"? Both men were apostles of Jesus Christ. Both men left all to follow Christ. Both men held positions of influence among the apostles. Both men witnessed wondrous miracles and heard amazing teachings. Furthermore, … Read More …
The One Year Bible recently brought me to the book of Deuteronomy (a book I would seldom, if ever, read without the encouragement of the One Year Bible). In Deuteronomy 5:23-27 I found these words of Moses to God's people, words by which he describes the reception of the Ten Commandments: "When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and elders came … Read More …
This past Sunday my sermon series - His Journey. Your Life. - brought me to Luke 4:14-30, where we find Jesus going home to Nazareth to speak in the synagogue on Sabbath day. All began well enough. Jesus stood, as was the custom when reading scripture, and opened a scroll to Isaiah 61:1-2, where he read these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent … Read More …
I came across The Marks of God's Children by a sixteen-century Dutch Calvinist pastor named Jean Taffin, who wrote during a season of persecution upon Protestant Christians in that part of the world now known as the Netherlands. This book, which reads like a pastor's manual, offers encouragement to believers wrestling with the tough questions of the faith: Why suffering? Where is God in all this? Why hasn't God answered my prayers? How can I be assured that … Read More …
"Faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love." Perhaps you have heard those words. They come from the pen of the apostle Paul and are recorded in his first letter to the Corinthians (13:13). Recently, I landed on that verse as I was developing a lesson on hope for what matters in life. That verse prompted a simple question in my mind: "How do I distinguish between faith, hope and love?" While … Read More …