Check List Holiness
2 Corinthians 3:1-8 Are you a list maker? Do you add things to your list just to check them off? Each check mark brings the feeling of accomplishment. The Corinthians knew about checking off lists....
View ArticleGloriously Transformed
2 Corinthians 3:9-18 The new law is love and it isn’t easy. Here’s some good news: Because of the new law, we can see and reflect the one true God. As we do, we will shine bright with a glow that will...
View ArticleRadical Love
Romans 8:1-9 Paul is a minister of the new law, the new covenant. In Romans 8, the church is reminded that the Mosaic law leads to death. Life lived by the new law of love is only possible by the...
View ArticleConfess and Believe
Romans 10:8-15 In Romans 10, Paul writes that salvation’s only requirement is that we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. The confessing part seems pretty easy to...
View ArticleUnshackled
Galatians 3:11-22 There are so many wonderful hymns of the church that depict breaking the chains of sin. While we may never know what it’s like to be a prisoner to drugs, alcohol, or gambling, these...
View ArticleBlessing of Love
James 1:16-25 It has been said that the gospel can be boiled down into one word: love. We use the word love in so many contexts: “I love pizza; I love video games; I love my dog; I love my spouse; I...
View ArticleA New Heart
Jeremiah 31:31-34 In Jeremiah, we see God telling His people that there will be a day when a new covenant is made with them. We have this image of the sinful heart that has had difficulty keeping the...
View ArticleMaking Gravy
2 Corinthians 5:1-7 I tried for years to make gravy. Drippings with flour and milk. Drippings with flour and water. Drippings with flour and butter and milk. Something had to work. However, for me,...
View ArticleWe Are Evangelists
2 Corinthians 5:8-15 I was sitting in a packed auditorium, and the man at the front was talking about the newest rollout of a popular computer software. It would be a massive overhaul of the software....
View ArticleBringing New Creation
2 Corinthians 5:16—6:2 The community work team was rehabbing a playground in a depressed area of town. It was a mess. Weeds in the play area. Missing swings on the swing set and missing bases on the...
View ArticleWalking The Goat
Matthew 5:21-26 Once upon a time, we had two goats. My girls loved them. My wife loved them. They loved watching the goats frolic and play. My relationship with the goats was more complicated. I had...
View ArticleSent By Love
Job 22:21-30 An outgrowth of Christian faith is that we share in the compassion of our God. Followers of Jesus serve their needy neighbors by providing clothes and food. Out of a heart of love, we...
View ArticleShare Your Story
Job 33:19-30 We started our first church board meeting of the year, taking turns as each person shared the story of their salvation. One by one, each one spoke. Do you remember when you came to faith...
View ArticleAttacks of Doubt
Psalm 69:4-13 There are times when it feels like the entire world is against us. We begin to worry about who is whispering behind our backs, what they are plotting and planning. It can be deeply...
View ArticleDo Not Worry
2 Corinthians 8:1-7 Churches often speak about tithing or giving as a duty or a discipline, but that is not the language Paul uses. He calls it the “grace of giving.” What Paul rightly saw was that...
View ArticleBring Manna
2 Corinthians 8:8-15 Paul often seems unrealistic in his writings, doesn’t he? In 2 Corinthians 8, he was writing to a church that was angry at him, and he expected them to love Jesus more than...
View ArticleTransparent Leadership
2 Corinthians 8:16-24 When it comes to money, maybe we should begin by telling one another what we make.” Stanley Hauerwas has said this, or something like this, on numerous occasions. He knew that...
View ArticleCheerfully Giving
2 Corinthians 9:1-7 In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul seems to have gotten in front of his skis some. He had spent considerable time with the Corinthians and thought he had a good relationship with them. They...
View ArticleHeavenly Supplier
2 Corinthians 9:8-15 These words seem like they could come from a millionaire televangelist urging people to donate “seed-faith” so that God can richly bless them as they want. Unfortunately, many...
View ArticleGod Provides
Philippians 4:13-23 Context matters a lot. Paul says that he can do “all this through him who gives me strength” (v. 13). Some read this to mean that Paul can do all things. What he really means is,...
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