Have you heard of the Whispering Gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London? Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the cathedral includes a gallery 30 meters above the floor, under the large dome. Even when the gallery is crowded, when a person places their cheek again the wall and whispers, if there is another person leaningContinue reading “A watchman must first hear from God – Ezekiel 3:16-27, Part 2”
Tag Archives: Prayer
How to encounter the presence of God – Ezekiel 1, Part 5
We started this five-part series on Ezekiel 1 asking, “How long has it been since you encountered the presence of God?” Has it been a long time? Maybe you can’t say that you’ve ever experienced the manifest presence of God? We’ve been following the vision of Ezekiel 1, and so far Ezekiel has encountered fourContinue reading “How to encounter the presence of God – Ezekiel 1, Part 5”
How to show hospitality – Colossians 4:7-18, Part 2
Editor’s Note: This week I welcome David Hundert on the blog. David is an MDiv student and member of Faith Church. He preaches for me 3-4 times each year when I am away, and this past week I was my denomination’s national conference. Thank you, David! Is hospitality just for hotels, restaurants, spas…or hospitals? CanContinue reading “How to show hospitality – Colossians 4:7-18, Part 2”
How to encourage one another – Colossians 4:7-18, Part 1
Editor’s Note: This week I welcome David Hundert on the blog. David is an MDiv student and member of Faith Church. He preaches for me 3-4 times each year when I am away, and this past week I was my denomination’s national conference. Thank you, David! There is a story of a young man whoContinue reading “How to encourage one another – Colossians 4:7-18, Part 1”
What to pray for yourself and others – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 4
Think about the content of your prayer requests. Often the prayer requests in my church family are health-related. There’s nothing wrong with asking God to heal us. But I do get concerned when it seems we have a fixation on health. While it is okay to pray for health-related concerns, that should not be ourContinue reading “What to pray for yourself and others – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 4”
The transforming power of gratitude – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 3
Do you ever feel like, as a parent, you are running your own private family Uber? The kids call or text, and you pick them up from practice. You drive them to events, to their friends’ houses, and all over. Or did you ever get a call like this: “Dad, practice finished early, so canContinue reading “The transforming power of gratitude – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 3”
How to hear from God (aka Practicing Watchful Prayer) – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 2
I once had a friend who talked a lot. I don’t know if it was because the person looked at me as a pastor, and thus assumed, wrongly, that it was my job to just listen to them express their struggles all the time. We would meet, sometimes for an hour or an hour andContinue reading “How to hear from God (aka Practicing Watchful Prayer) – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 2”
Two Marks of a Healthy Church – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 1
What is a healthy church? What is a dead church? What is a failing church? How do we measure the success of a church? As we continue our series studying the New Testament letter, Colossians, Paul shares two practices that mark a healthy church. Turn to Colossians 4:2. We are reading verses 2-6. Pause thisContinue reading “Two Marks of a Healthy Church – Colossians 4:2-6, Part 1”
How to overcome “Some people never change” – Colossians 3:1-4, Part 4
“They will never change.” Have you ever said that? Maybe you thought it? Or maybe it was declared about you. Is it true that people never change? Perhaps it has been true for some people. But for the vast majority, change is always happening in our lives, even if incrementally. As we have been studyingContinue reading “How to overcome “Some people never change” – Colossians 3:1-4, Part 4″
How to be a good friend to God- Colossians 1:24-2:5, Part 10
In the previous post, I mentioned that I had to confess and repent, “Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit in me, I am sorry I haven’t been a good friend, I’m sorry I haven’t given much effort to get to know you.” Of course, that is not totally true, as we can get to know God inContinue reading “How to be a good friend to God- Colossians 1:24-2:5, Part 10”
Engaging Scripture 