I invite you to open your Bibles with me to the book of Matthew. Matthew is in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew 14, beginning in verse 22. If you don’t have a bible with you this morning, feel free to grab one from the pew in front of you and…
The Bible often prefers to show rather than tell. It is the difference between telling you I have a great jump shot and beating you one-on-one. One is telling, the other is showing. In our passage this morning, Jesus does a little telling and a little showing about what it means to be a disciple.…
Wesley Hill, Washed And Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2010. 160 pages. This book deserves to be read. Wesley Hill’s voice is needed both in the church and in the wider culture. In his beautifully written and deeply honest book, Washed and Waiting, Hill reflects on his journey as both…
Michael Horton, Ordinary: Sustainable faith in a radical, restless world. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2014. 221 pages. Christ did not found a movement. He is building a Church. In Ordinary, Michael Horton argues that the ‘next big thing’ is not a radical endeavor, but the slow work of Christ in his church. While the situations faced…
Tony Merida, Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down, B&H Publishing Group: Nashville, 2015. 137 pages. Who wants to be ordinary? For much of the last few decades, the church has encouraged those devoted to Jesus to be radical and extraordinary, to be transformed, and to embrace the shocking message of Jesus. Tony Merida’s…
The controversy surrounding gender and women in leadership seems only to be heating up instead of cooling down. In many ways, the Christian community is more polarized than it was even two decades ago. Christians in leadership and in the pews are feeling forced to choose between being a complementarian (those who argue that men…
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) Jesus never said it would be easy to follow him. He said…
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1:3) What do you picture when you hear this verse? Do you picture a lush tree beside a beautiful stream of water? A mighty oak…
