I first got glasses in 3rd grade, and then contacts since I was 16 yrs old. My eyes are terribly near-sighted. If I don’t have my contacts in or my glasses on, it feels like my entire world is out of focus, a blur. For the last couple years I’ve also needed reading glasses. ContactsContinue reading “Corrective lenses and the church – 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Part 3”
Tag Archives: body of christ
What you can learn from that part of your body you don’t like – 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Part 2
Do you have a part of your body that you don’t like? Some people don’t like feet. Another famously disdained part of the body is the nose. I suspect that nearly all humans have a part of their body they don’t like. That fact is what Paul talks about in 1st Corinthians 12:12. First, PaulContinue reading “What you can learn from that part of your body you don’t like – 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Part 2”
Do you feel the Holy Spirit passed you by when handing out gifts? – 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Part 1
A person once told me they felt they didn’t have any spiritual gifts. I wonder if you have ever felt that way? You look around church on a Sunday morning, and it is easy to just see teachers, worship leaders, singers, musicians, and preachers. Did God pass you by? Are some gifts more important thanContinue reading “Do you feel the Holy Spirit passed you by when handing out gifts? – 1 Corinthians 12:12–31, Part 1”
When I played a Beatles’ song for youth group, and it failed – Meeting together, Part 2
In the spring of 2003 I had been in my role as Faith Church’s Youth/Associate Pastor for less than 12 months when a nearby sister church approached us with an idea: could we combine youth groups? They were renting space at a local school, and not only did they not have easy access to additionalContinue reading “When I played a Beatles’ song for youth group, and it failed – Meeting together, Part 2”
How to have hope over fear – Encourage one another, Part 3
Saul has just made a decision to turn his life around 180 degrees. He met Jesus, and everything would now change. He used to persecute Christians, and now he was preaching about Jesus. But that all happened far away from the church’s home base in Jerusalem. No surprise, then, what we read in Acts 9, verse 26, “When [Saul]Continue reading “How to have hope over fear – Encourage one another, Part 3”
Introducing a new blog series: Relationships in the church
This past fall, in front of the whole class, I had to disagree with one of my students. I was teaching Early Church, covering the New Testament books of Acts through Revelation. In that class session, a student remarked at how unified the early church was. It was early in the semester, so this studentContinue reading “Introducing a new blog series: Relationships in the church”
How a unique surgery helped me know what to do after voting – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 2
An acquaintance of Michelle and mine recently had a terrible accident at his work. He is a contractor and was operating a cement mixer, got his hands caught in there, and the machine did serious damage to both hands. One hand was far worse than the other, and for that hand surgeons are attempting aContinue reading “How a unique surgery helped me know what to do after voting – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 2”
I voted…now what? – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 1
Our country is divided. It is not just division about who we are going to vote for. Our division goes far deeper than that. We are deeply divided about what we think is best for the country. Interestingly, what I have noticed is that both of the major political parties believe they are promoting whatContinue reading “I voted…now what? – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 1”
Jesus wants us to have so much more than eternal life – Our Identity: In Christ, Part 3
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “eternal life”? Probably heaven right? Life after death. But that’s not the only way that Jesus talked about the new life that we can have in him. In John 10:10 he would go on to say that he came that people would haveContinue reading “Jesus wants us to have so much more than eternal life – Our Identity: In Christ, Part 3”
That time the Apostle Paul talked about unpresentable parts
I really think there was a twinkle in his eye. He wasn’t there when they read the letter, so I have to imagine that twinkle, and the corners of his mouth turning up as he grinned to himself thinking about when they would read this. They would get the letter, gather the group of followersContinue reading “That time the Apostle Paul talked about unpresentable parts”
Engaging Scripture 