I had a difficult time finding the picture above, the one with a man holding an umbrella for another guy. My difficulty didn’t have to do with the photo, but with the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to get the search algorithm to give me what I wanted. I use Unsplash for freeContinue reading “For love to be love, it will cost you – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 4”
Tag Archives: love
Examine how you love – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 3
Examine how you love. Do you know how to examine your love? Or do you just assume that you are good at loving? Have you ever thought about that? As we continue studying Honest Advent, we are learning what gifts Jesus wants us to give him for Christmas. Last week we learned to give him theContinue reading “Examine how you love – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 3”
How to know if you a truly a follower of Jesus – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 2
I was recently talking with someone about their spiritual journey. They said that they grew up in a Christian family, and they didn’t remember having what some people call a “moment of decision,” which is a distinct memory of their willful choice to believe in and give their lives to Jesus. You might hear someContinue reading “How to know if you a truly a follower of Jesus – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 2”
What it means that “God is Love” – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 1
During Honest Advent we are looking at what gifts we can give Jesus. Last week we learned that one of the gifts he wants is our vulnerability. What we are starting to find in this Advent series is that the gifts Jesus wants are gifts that he first gave us. Think about how Jesus gaveContinue reading “What it means that “God is Love” – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 1″
How Christians need to be like the Human Carpet after the election – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 5
Have you heard of the Human Carpet? He gets paid to go to parties where people can walk all over him. They can jump on him. Sit on him for hours. Surf on him. One time he did this for 11 straight hours! He wraps himself in a carpet, lays down and has never been hurtContinue reading “How Christians need to be like the Human Carpet after the election – Current Events 2020 Q4, Part 5”
How to be an encouragement – Current Events Q3 2020, Part 4
Our study of the “One Another” passages in the New Testament continues. If you haven’t read the previous posts, I encourage to start at the first one here. There are more than 50 “One Another” passages, and put together they form a powerful teaching about the identity and practice of the church. This week IContinue reading “How to be an encouragement – Current Events Q3 2020, Part 4”
Is it wrong for Jesus to say, “if we love him, we’ll obey him”? – Fourth Sunday of Advent 2019, Part 2
In the previous post, we talked about Jesus makes some promises in John 14:15-31, and the main promise takes the form of an “if-then” statement. If we do x, he promises to do y. So here is the promise: If we love him, we will obey him, and then he promises to give us whatContinue reading “Is it wrong for Jesus to say, “if we love him, we’ll obey him”? – Fourth Sunday of Advent 2019, Part 2″
An amazing response to tragedy – Characters: Ruth, Part 2
Have you experienced tragedy and loss in your life? How have you responded to it? It’s not easy to respond well to the difficult situations in life. As we continue the story of Ruth, we will see an example of an amazing response to tragedy, a response we would do well to follow. In ourContinue reading “An amazing response to tragedy – Characters: Ruth, Part 2”
Mercy for those who doubt – Jude 17-25, Part 5
“Be merciful to those who doubt.” Interesting phrase, isn’t it? So often we conceive of doubt as a negative thing to be avoided, and the result can be that people who doubt are considered to be sinful or strange. But is doubt wrong? As we conclude our two-week study through the letter of Jude, weContinue reading “Mercy for those who doubt – Jude 17-25, Part 5”
Keep yourself in God’s love – Jude 17-25, Part 4
“Keep yourself in God’s love.” That really sounds like a religious or spiritual thing to say, right? What comes to your mind when you read that line? In this series of posts, we have been studying some phrases that Jude writes in an ancient letter to his Christian friends. It seems that Jude is writingContinue reading “Keep yourself in God’s love – Jude 17-25, Part 4”
Engaging Scripture 