Trust & Obey, Week 2: Matthew 16 & 18, Part 3 When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind is likely a contemporary expression of church in your culture. For me, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA, I think of church buildings. My county has something like 700 church buildings of all shapes andContinue reading “What Jesus never said about church”
Tag Archives: christians
Jesus’ two surprising teachings about church
Trust & Obey, Week 2: Matthew 16 & 18, Part 2 As a pastor of twenty-three years, I’ve had some surprising experiences during worship services. For example, one time a wasp landed right on my Bible as I was preaching! People seated close to the front saw it all. I swatted at it, and itContinue reading “Jesus’ two surprising teachings about church”
The proper foundation on which to build a church
Trust & Obey, Week 2: Matthew 16 & 18, Part 1 Guess how many total times the word “church” appears in all four Gospels combined? Don’t google it. I’m going to give you the answer in a moment. Just off the top of your head, how many times do you think the word “church” appearsContinue reading “The proper foundation on which to build a church”
Nicknames & the foundation of the church
Trust & Obey, Week 2: Matthew 16 & 18, Preview Do you have a nickname? Nicknames are fun. They can build a warm, relational bond. Did you know that Jesus seems to like using nicknames? To his disciples James and John, he gave the nickname “Sons of Thunder.” To another disciple, Simon, he gave the nicknameContinue reading “Nicknames & the foundation of the church”
The surprising place Jesus said he wants to have a home (hint…it’s not in heaven)
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Part 5 Jesus has been attempting to prepare his disciples for a major change, that he will be leaving them. But he says he will send the Spirit to be with them. Clearly, the disciples are unsettled and confused. So Jesus needs to explain further. Continue reading “The surprising place Jesus said he wants to have a home (hint…it’s not in heaven)”
Jesus says that we show we believe in him by how we live our lives
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Part 4 It’s now just hours before Jesus will be forcibly taken from his disciples, and less than a day before he will be killed. In John 14, Jesus is having a final conversation with his disciples, trying to prepare them for what will rockContinue reading “Jesus says that we show we believe in him by how we live our lives”
Jesus’ somewhat confusing instructions for entering the Kingdom of God
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Part 3 In John 14, verse 1, Jesus is talking about belief, as we saw him do in the previous posts on John 3. But between John chapter 3 and John 14, time has passed, and now Jesus is hours away from his death. HeContinue reading “Jesus’ somewhat confusing instructions for entering the Kingdom of God”
What Jesus means by the concept of belief
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Part 2 “How can an adult be born a second time?” So asked Nicodemus to Jesus, who had just said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Good question, if you’re thinking very literally. My daughter-in-law just recently gave birth to my 8lb, 4oz, grandson,Continue reading “What Jesus means by the concept of belief”
Are Christians relying too heavily on John 3:16?
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Part 1 I’m back from sabbatical, and for the next few weeks, the blog series will be “Trust and Obey,” which is the name of a song I learned when I was a kid in Sunday school. During sabbatical I thought about how those twoContinue reading “Are Christians relying too heavily on John 3:16?”
The red letters that maybe Jesus didn’t say
Trust & Obey, Week 1: John 3 & John 14, Preview Does your Bible print the words of Jesus in red? Some Bibles print Jesus’ words in red, some don’t. Why? When the Gospels were originally written, even though original copies no longer exists, scholars are fairly confident that the Gospel writers did not use redContinue reading “The red letters that maybe Jesus didn’t say”
Engaging Scripture 