“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12 There have been two very public murders in this country this past month.[1] Yet it is striking how differently these stories are told depending on who is telling them. Some have justified these killings as preventions … Continue reading The View from Below
Hallowed Be Your Name
“This, then, is how you should pray: “'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name...” -Matthew 6:9 What follows is an edited manuscript of a sermon that I delivered on November, 23 2025. My church has been going through the Heidelberg Catechism this calendar year, and we’ve now made it to the questions that have … Continue reading Hallowed Be Your Name
Monsters in the Air
“…for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." -Ephesians 6:12 I recently finished two books that deal with a similar theme though they belong to very different genres. Stephen … Continue reading Monsters in the Air
Bread & Wine
“And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” - 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 What … Continue reading Bread & Wine
Blessed are the Merciful
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” - Matthew 5:7 This is the second part of my somewhat loose work-through of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. If you haven’t already, you may want to check out part 1 where I give a basic overview of the Beatitudes: here. What … Continue reading Blessed are the Merciful
Blessed are the Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” - Matthew 5:9 A few of the High Schoolers in my church plan to study the Sermon on the Mount with me this Spring and Summer. We are using Skye Jethani’s book What if Jesus was Serious[1] as a jumping-off point, but our … Continue reading Blessed are the Peacemakers
The Faith of My Grandparents
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13 My grandfather and grandmother have both passed away. They have been gone for a bit now. Yet I often wish I could ask them for advice. My grandmother was a very caring person. She loved her … Continue reading The Faith of My Grandparents
Persecution of Flattery: an example
A few days ago, I wrote a blog (here) on Revelation 18:4. That text served as a call to early believers, and inadvertently us today, to separate our allegiance from any nation or empire that isn’t the kingdom of God. Within that blog, I mentioned that we do not often suffer a violent persecution today … Continue reading Persecution of Flattery: an example
Pull Out!
The apostle John uses a rather explicit, uncomfortable metaphor late in the book of Revelation. Addressing believers who have aligned themselves with Empire, he writes: “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:“Fallen! Fallen is … Continue reading Pull Out!
Post-Election Thoughts
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 An interesting thing often happens after elections in this country. Followers of Jesus all over the political spectrum use language to … Continue reading Post-Election Thoughts
Scripture Simplified 