Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. A momentous event in history where death was defeated by the death of Christ on the cross and his resurrection on the third day. This resurrection is more than a good story. It is more than a spiritual truth. It was and is a reality that affects and … Continue reading What’s So Special About the Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15 provides for us as readers of this lengthy and valuable book, the importance of the resurrection, but, as we'll see, the motivation that the resurrection should have on how we live our lives. First, though, I would like to introduce this topic by clearing up an interesting and ambiguous statement that Paul … Continue reading What is Your Motivation?

Sometimes we use language like, "God can't be placed in a box," to represent some big or great thing God can or God should do. While I agree with that idea in theory, I think we need to be careful that there appear to be standards within which God places himself. One of those standards … Continue reading Jesus’ Concern for the Sick

In our passage today, Luke 12:49-56, Jesus uses language that may cause us as Gentiles who are 2,000 years removed from Jesus' culture to assume one thing about what Jesus is saying. However, as we do a little digging, we begin to realize there is more going on here. Sometimes, when we run across difficult … Continue reading Difficult and Strange Words of Jesus

Our lesson today has a lot in common with a lesson from Matthew 25:1-13, where Jesus told a parable of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to return from a wedding banquet. In this case, we have servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, and even more detail after his return. … Continue reading Wedding Banquets and Serving

What does wealth mean to you? According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, wealth means, "abundance of valuable material possessions or resources; abundant supply." About 40% of Americans say that the economic inequality that exists in America should be top priority. In the Old Testament, the view of wealth was a bit more generous that that … Continue reading Being Rich Toward God

This weeks lesson is about prayer. Prayer has always been an important part of the Jewish faith. From the Shema to the Amidah, prayer is at the center of the Jewish experience. Today we will be looking at Luke 11:1-13 where Jesus' disciples ask Jesus to teach them a prayer like John. One day Jesus … Continue reading Pray This Way

Jesus' birth provides for us as readers a foreshadowing of the meaning of the Kingdom of God. If you are familiar with the parables that Jesus shared about the Kingdom of God, typically we hear about small things, insignificant things becoming large and all encompassing over time. Parables such as faith the size of a … Continue reading Jesus’ Birth, a Living Parable of the Kingdom of God