Grotesque, morbid, unsightly... those words describe something that is at the very heart of Christianity. It’s something that is preached and taught about all the time in the Christian faith. I’m talking about Christ’s crucifixion. And while some may find it too brutal, or think it unnecessary... because of our sin, it is essential to our very salvation. For wherever the cross disappears, true Christianity also disappears.
May 19, 2024
Peter was a big disciple. He was the first disciple to trust Christ with his life. He left his career and followed God. But even Peter denied Christ... not once but three times! But thankfully Jesus Christ did not abandon Peter. He picked him up after he had fallen, set him back on his feet, and encouraged him to continue to grow in his faith. And the good news is that this same encouragement is available to us when we stumble.
May 12, 2024
“I need just a little peace and quiet.” That’s something we’ve all said on occasion. It may seem innocent enough, but the truth is, deep down inside, we all long for peace... in our relationships, at our workplace, in our families. Often these areas of our lives have very little peace, even though we may work hard at it. The problem is, real, genuine peace in our lives only comes after we make peace with God.
April 28, 2024
The times we live in are difficult, some might even say tumultuous. If you look around you can find much to be afraid about...the economy, current world affairs, wars. We can let our fears get to us, or we can stop, and take a minute to look at what the Bible has to teach us about this world, fear, our future, and the courage we can have as we face all of those things.
April 21, 2024
Have you ever left a project unfinished? Our lives are filled with projects that we have never quite managed to complete. We have half-read books on our shelves and piles of junk left abandoned from hobbies we’ve started, but never finished. Thankfully Jesus Christ did not leave the great project of his life unfinished. He got the job done, He accomplished the mission.
April 14, 2024
Have you ever been at a place in your life where you felt forgotten or forsaken, totally alone? It’s a painful place to be, a place where you feel no one understands or “feels your pain.” But one person does understand, and has felt your pain and has conquered death for you so that you can have eternal life.
April 7, 2024
It’s hard for us to really embrace the idea that Jesus Christ was as much a man as he was God. But along with the miracles he performed as the Son of God, he also experienced humanity as deeply as we do...and one of the best examples we see is when he, while being crucified, was thirsty. Jesus was human after all, and if he was going save us, if he was going to die in our place, then he needed to be one of us to do it.
March 31, 2024
As Jesus was growing up, his unique identity as the Son of God and his unique ministry as the Savior of the world must have made for some very interesting family situations. Certainly these family ties were strained during the course of his life, and they were broken altogether at the cross.
March 24, 2024
The thief on the cross next to Jesus was a criminal in life, the lowest of the low. But he knew his Savior when he met him that day at the place of the Skull outside Jerusalem. Was he just lucky, to be dying next to Jesus? For just at the last possible moment in his earthly life he received the gift of eternal life.
March 17, 2024