Category

Jesus leads us from all-too-common human vengeance to a life of mercy and peace. Read More →

We are urged to have faith that Christ can calm the greatest storm. Read More →

We can prepare the way for Christ to be at work, for others and for ourselves, as we bring ourselves and others to Christ in faith. Read More →

We find what we need as we seek God and God’s Kingdom. Read More →

We are not only called to follow Jesus’ teachings; we are invited to share in a profound spiritual fellowship with Christ, which enables us to live as his disciples. Read More →

As we share in God’s work, God provides for our need, often well beyond what we would imagine. Read More →

Jesus says that “the hairs of your head are numbered” and he acts powerfully in the lives of small, ordinary people. God is at work on the level of the small – here to work in us! Read More →

Jesus’ teaching draws us in a direction dramatically different from how people typically are inclined to live. Read More →

How can a servant also be a Leader? Read More →

All human beings have a longing for a greater reality. We have implanted within us a sense of the Ultimate. A true grasp of life acknowledges and moves toward this transcendent Reality, for it is only then that life makes sense. Truth finally is not a set of concepts, but a life... Read More →

We are called in an age of falsehood to be people to proclaim truth to the world. Read More →

Is Christianity the one true religion? When different religions make different claims, how do we know what is true? The Biblical message about Christ provides a very illuminating answer. Read More →

The Scriptures have enormous emphasis on personal truthfulness and God’s warnings against deceit. This is a pressing need in our time! Read More →

The truth of God has the power to shape our society and our lives for great good, if we focus our attention on God’s truth. Read More →

We need to consider the many signs that God has given us of God’s truth. But still more is needed: we must finally make a decision for truth, in order that Jesus’ words become true – “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” Read More →

Falsehoods play to people’s fears. When we live in faith, we are freed from fear, and enabled to stand firmly in truth. Read More →

Life dominated by fear will result in life containing any sense of fulfillment. Isaiah speaks to all of us when he says, “Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God…he will come and save you.” And when Jesus approached his frightened... Read More →

History has often been a story of grand falsehoods, sometimes in the guise of religious truth, as in the case of American slavery. People of God are called to a struggle for genuine truth. Read More →

How do we find truth? This a central question for our lives – that we may live in the truth! There is sound guidance in Christian teaching. Read More →

Each year, our teens contribute the bulk of a service. Thank you for sharing your talents with the church! Read More →

The Scriptures say that “many deceivers have gone out into the world” (II John 7), and this is certainly the case in our time! We are bombarded with false and deceptive messaging. Biblical teaching guides us to be on our guard against the “deceivers” and to be able to discern... Read More →

Do we each choose our own truth? Is it just my truth versus your truth? Pilate cynically asked, “What is truth?” But there is ultimate truth to be found in Jesus. Read More →

 “Big lies” have swept our country in recent times.  How do we recognize the big lie, and how do we know whether some religious claims are actually big lies?   We gain insight in the “big truth” of Jesus Christ. Read More →

We live in an era of competing truth claims. How do we know who is telling the truth? The Scriptures point the way. Read More →

Jesus’ wounds were still visible after his resurrection. He brings not only wholeness to the world but the scars and wounds as well. Read More →

God brings us out of darkness and ruin, bringing us into new life. Read More →

In contrast to all the demagogues in history who have proclaimed themselves to be the “saviors” of the nation and who often made “grand entrances” on the world stage, Jesus comes as the true Savior – in humility, self-giving love, and service. Read More →

God’s saving promises consistently unfold throughout the Bible. We can depend upon God’s promises today. Read More →

When we are in the most apparently hopeless circumstances – and are undeserving of God’s help – God acts in grace, with saving power and promise. Read More →

We can thrive in times of trial when we send down the roots of faith and draw upon the waters of God’s renewing grace. Read More →

“True fasting” is a commitment of the heart to do God’s will, which enables us to share in the wonderful things God can do among us. Read More →

God brings about forgiveness and spiritual renewal within us as we turn to God in faith. Read More →

Isaiah invites us to “seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near,” with the assurance that as we do so we will experience God’s freely given blessing. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel use the image of abundant waters to speak of how God will answer the... Read More →

“Beulah Land” is the land we have never seen but for which we long. It is the not yet realized bright future that God has in store for us. The term originally described the restored homeland to which God was bringing the exiles, but it describes far more the future we have in... Read More →

Although we may mess up in life, God never gives up on us. Though we may wander off from God, God keeps searching for us and cares for us like a shepherd. God persists, in spite of the world’s forgetfulness, to bring about God’s aims for good. Read More →

Many of the key servants of God in the Bible – Moses, Ezekiel, and ultimately Jesus – met enormous opposition and did not look like they would succeed. They kept on anyway. Rather than being discouraged by defeats, we can keep on in faith, knowing that God is at work. Read More →

The closest Biblical parallel to our pandemic experience is the Exile, when the people of Judah were separated from their temple, their homeland, and their way of life. Exile is a time for self-reflection and above all for remembering who we are called to be as God’s people. Read More →

The shepherds and the wise men were “outsiders” in their day, not fully accepted by the most righteous Jews. But now, as it is said in Ephesians 2:13, “You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Through Christ we, though unworthy, are welcomed into the... Read More →

Jesus is the gift who lasts forever. He is the gift that saturates our lives, bodies, and souls. Read More →

This has been a rough year in many respects. But the Christmas story is precisely about God entering into the rough places and transforming human lives, giving us purpose, guidance, empowerment, and hope. Read More →

Although we are chosen for blessing, we often hit difficult times. In such times we need to be attentive to God, so as to be receptive to what God will do. Read More →

God chooses us in Christ to have a wondrous destiny. We need to respond to God’s choice and enter into the eternal destiny God has for us. Read More →

Mary, like the whole people of Israel before her, was chosen not because she merited choice but simply because God chose her in grace. God likewise chooses to save and bless us out of pure grace. Read More →

Abraham was chosen by God, and the ultimate “chosen one” is Jesus. (“Here is my servant . . . my chosen” Isaiah 42:1) They are chosen however not merely to enjoy God’s blessing but principally to bring blessing to others. We are chosen to be instruments of God’s blessing to the... Read More →

We give thanks to God for leading us through the challenges of these days. Read More →

The real battles we are to fight are spiritual ones – with the aim of overcoming our sinful inclinations to achieve God’s vision of shalom, for ourselves, our church, and our world. Read More →

In the aftermath of the election, we have a call to come together to work for God’s purposes and build a better world. Read More →

The real victors in the Biblical view are those who win the spiritual battles of love over hate, righteousness over evil, and life over death. Read More →

Christ wins the ultimate victory through self-sacrificial love. Read More →

We are called to trust in how God is at work. Read More →