Readings: Luke 24:1-8 & 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 Dear Friends, ”We do not loose heart!” These are not sugar coated words. It’s not a vague hope. Paul is being brutally honest in these verses: things break. But the resurrection!?? Well – that changes everything. It doesn’t prevent the breaking here on earth but it certainly changes our understanding of the breaking. When […]
Readings: Mark 14:32-41, John 18:1-8;12-15, Matthew: 26:69-75, 1 Peter 1:17-19, parts of Luke 22 & 23, Luke 23:44-49 Dear Friends, Paul says “you know”. You know that you’ve been ransomed with the precious and perfect blood of Jesus from your futile ways. Tonight is a night to be comforted by that truth. We have been […]
Readings: Luke 22:1-13, John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38 Dear Friends, In John 13 Jesus has one of those moments where everything becomes crystal clear. He knows exactly who He is, He knows where He has come from and He knows exactly how powerful He is. How powerful is He? Well He’s the most powerful man—ever. What […]
Reading: Luke 19:28-44 Dear Friends, Holy week is filled with folks that compromise. They go against their gut, go against their character or allow fear to change their behavior. Pilate compromises. The disciples compromise. The religious leaders compromise. Jesus? He’s determined. He’s convicted. He knows exactly what this day, this Palm Sunday is all about. […]
Readings: 2 Peter 3:1-14; Luke 12:16-22 Dear Friends, Temporary. Eternal. We know that our hearts, minds and eyes should be focused on eternal things. But boy, we get distracted, don’t we? The everydayness of life sometimes fools us into focusing on this world instead of what is to come. That’s the bad news. The good news […]
Reading: Matthew 5:43-48 Dear Friends, Ok, if we are honest, we will never be able to “give up enemies.” As long as we are alive on earth and in relationship with others, enemies will happen. But, Jesus does have some challenging things to say about enemies. Let me give you a hint: giving up on […]
Readings: Genesis 12:1-9, John 3:1-5 Dear Friends, Expectations are a part of life. We have them in any and every situation. Often times, people have expectations of us. We often try to manage expectations. You know? Lower them. Not have any. Expect the unexpected. Expectation management. Today we are not talking about that. We will […]
Readings: Genesis 3:1-7 & Matthew 4:1-11 Dear Friends, When we read in the Bible about Jesus being in control of demons, sickness and even death – we like that. When we think about him being in control – or wanting to be in control – of every aspect of our lives … well, that’s more […]