Meals can stick with you in more ways than one. Do you have warm memories of delicious food you enjoyed at a holiday dinner or a birthday celebration? On the farm where I grew up, on Sundays my family enjoyed fried chicken or roast beef accompanied by mounds of mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade rolls, […]
Week 48 Mission | Among Friends
John describes Jesus’ life and ministry this way, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message). Where did Jesus live and do his work? In the neighborhood. He met the neighbors, learned their names, listened to their needs, ate with them, and ministered to individual people. Jesus was […]
Week 48 Character | Be Still
Attending church regularly as a child, I learned that having a daily time with God was essential to the life of a Christian. Church camp provided a boost to my spiritual life every summer, and I established the routine of reading my Bible and journaling every evening before bed. I attended Bible college, and just […]
Week 47 Study | Mediator of the New Covenant
Technically a covenant (or testament) is not a book; it is an agreement in a relationship. And relationships change due more to people than events. This in no way denigrates the event of the cross, which signaled the change of covenant (Hebrews 9:16). But is the cross the key to the covenant shift or is […]
Week 47 Application | The Church’s Surprising Glory
What goes through the minds of our neighbors when we invite them to church? Some probably imagine enduring an hour of puzzling religious ceremonies while sitting stiffly among strangers. Who would want to do that? When my wife and I invited our Muslim neighbors to church and they accepted our invitation, we needed to prepare […]