My son walked up to our pantry closet in our kitchen, looking for a snack. He quickly put his hand over his nose, uttering a muffled “Ugh! What is that smell?” I looked over at him standing there, and said “What do you mean? Is it the trashcan?” Our kitchen trash bin is right nextContinue reading “What if we’re totally wrong about what it means to follow Jesus – Part 2”
Tag Archives: gospel of luke
What if we’re totally wrong about what it should look like to follow Jesus? Part 1
We are about to head to the polls again. Who are you for, and who are you against? Republican? Democrat? Third-party? As the presidential race heats up, who are you for and who are you against? “For or against” is more than just a way to approach politics. It is a common way we lookContinue reading “What if we’re totally wrong about what it should look like to follow Jesus? Part 1”
How the Lord’s Prayer Matters – Luke 11:1-13
Can you recite the Lord’s Prayer? Go ahead, give it a try…”Our Father…” Need a hint? Click here. How did you do? How long has it been since you recited it? Maybe you recite the prayer often. Or maybe your church worship uses the prayer weekly? What does the Lord’s Prayer matter? Are we supposedContinue reading “How the Lord’s Prayer Matters – Luke 11:1-13”
How to escape the crushing busyness of life, Part 1 – The Problem
How many of you have heard yourself say lately “I am too busy!”? How many of you have thought “I’ll never get this all done.”? How many of you have felt like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Remember how the Good Samaritan made time for the injured man. But the Levite and PriestContinue reading “How to escape the crushing busyness of life, Part 1 – The Problem”
How to stop treating people as projects, Part 2 – People of Peace & Missional Communities
Last week I introduced my sermon on Luke 10:1-24 talking about how we Christians can be guilty of treating people as our own little spiritual projects. While I don’t believe that most Christians set out to make people into projects, in our eagerness to see people experience what we think is so amazing, namely, followingContinue reading “How to stop treating people as projects, Part 2 – People of Peace & Missional Communities”
How to get out of a spiritual rut – Luke 9:37-45
I asked last week in the intro post if you might be blinded by your assumptions about God. Sometimes we can get stuck in spiritual rut, and in that rut we can’t see God for who he really is. In the passage we studied this past Sunday, Luke 9:37-45, the disciples were stuck. The nineContinue reading “How to get out of a spiritual rut – Luke 9:37-45”
Blinded by our assumptions about God?
Sometimes we get so stuck in a way of seeing things, that we can’t see them any other way. Check out this clip for a recent example of how stuck we can get: See that? People were given a phone from 8 years ago, told that it was the newest version of the phone, andContinue reading “Blinded by our assumptions about God?”
Who is Jesus, really?
After some arduous ministry, finally Jesus and the disciples got that vacation they were so longing for in the last section. Luke tells us that Jesus is in prayer, and the disciples are with him. He stops praying, turns and asks them: “Who do the people say that I am?” I suspect Jesus he hasContinue reading “Who is Jesus, really?”
When peace and quiet seem impossible to come by
Anyone else out there feeling a longing for some peace and quiet in life? We have our men’s retreat at Twin Pines coming up in a month, and I’m really looking forward to getting away. Up to the mountains. Last year we devoted time at the retreat for personal prayer. I decided to pray whileContinue reading “When peace and quiet seem impossible to come by”
Christian phrases that need to go, and one to keep
We Christians have lingo, goobledy-gook. Christianese, some have called it. Phrases we spout off to sound righteous, but often don’t really mean. Most of them need to go. Check out this video for some egregious (and hilarious) examples: Another one of those phrases we thrown around a lot is “Just depend on God.” In theContinue reading “Christian phrases that need to go, and one to keep”
Engaging Scripture 