Imitate Christ in Selfless Love
Here we are explicitly told what the walk of believers entails: the walk “in love,” the imitation of God and of Christ, who loved with a love beyond compare. Having…
Here we are explicitly told what the walk of believers entails: the walk “in love,” the imitation of God and of Christ, who loved with a love beyond compare. Having…
Dear Roger, I’m puzzled. When Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and follow Him, what did He mean? What is the cross, and what does it…
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Dear Roger, Our small group was studying the passage in John 21 where Jesus commissioned Peter to be a shepherd for His sheep. I hadn’t considered the next part before,…
Max Lucado teaches that God never gave us leftovers. He gave us His best! “Suppose I were to drop by your house holding a foil-covered saucer. “Hello, friend,” I say.…
I don’t believe in accidents. But, sometimes things happen that I didn’t plan, like the time Gary and I ended up on an all-Jewish bus tour of Israel. When…
Elisha gave up a profitable career to become a penniless prophet. What do we learn? Crisis can be catalyst for change, but how do we change in the absence of one?…
We all love romance. We all love a good love story. I don’t know if it is ingrained in us to love romance, or a product of Disney marketing, but…
Andy Stanley and comedian Jeff Foxworthy discuss life issues and the importance of making a difference in our community. “When the church does good, God’s name is made great. This…
Dear Roger, I am a member of your church and I work for (company name withheld). We take the girls to various Assembly of God Churches, but I am allowed…
An old Chinese proverb says, “One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade.” You and I are still benefiting from the shade provided by trees planted by our…
Dear Roger, I got emotionally involved with a man at work. One thing led to another and before I knew it, our relationship became physical. It didn’t last very…
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” Here we find an example of Jesus comforting his disciples. When He tells them not to…
I love history and I love America! Thought I’d share a little of both in a brief article. For the record, this isn’t a dissertation. It’s a blog. And I’m…
Dear Roger, I am so pleased to find this site as I am a former Casas member. We are in another state now, and attend a PCA Presbyterian church (reformed).…
Over the last two weeks, we announced that the U.S. now has at least 8,000 multisite churches (by the broadest definition) and also 5 trends in how multisites launch and…
Velcro love sticks and stays. God’s HESED love causes us to act on commitment, not feelings first. Suffering is the context where true love begins. Christ’s sacrifice is the embodiment…
Sitting on a friend’s porch watching a cloud-lit sunset is hardly the image you may have of how a savage rape occurs. But that’s my story. As I waited…
How do leaders get vision? The short answer to this question is: People find what they look for and leaders look for vision. We all pursue our priorities and leaders…
The beautiful love poem of Solomon to his bride teaches much about the passion, permanence, power and procreative purpose of marriage. Marriage is a holy covenant based on sacrifice and…
Who Is “Unsafe” and Who Is “Safe?” When I was a counselor at a Christian agency, the front desk received a call from a distressed woman. She said that she…
There’s always that one kid. The kid who won’t stay in his seat at the restaurant. The girl who has to have the last word. And the boy who’s always…
(Author’s note: this is a blog post about the huge changes that are rocking Western society – and their impact on the church. I am not advocating these changes; I’m…
What if Jesus walked into your church office, applying for a staff position. Would He be welcomed? Would He be laughed out of the office? Would he be politely dismissed…
God’s covenants are irrevocable promises that He will love, rescue and protect His people. The rainbow, the atoning sacrifices, the Ark of the Covenant, the Law, and the cross are…
Cain didn’t understand that pleasing God meant obeying Him. In a jealous rage, Cain murdered his brother. Jesus’ decried the Pharisees for the same sin: self-styled religion.
In my book, Revise Us Again, I argued at length that the Christian life is becoming who you already are. In Ephesians, Paul says two times to “speak the truth…
The problem with a living sacrifice is the tendency to crawl off the altar. When we fail to allow God to be magnified by complete surrender to Him, we lose…
Recently, a couple of books and websites have referenced me as a good example of how to exegete and “engage culture” in the task of preaching. They include citations of…
From one perspective, there was a routine about the events of the crucifixion that was normal. The soldiers fulfilled their function with the kind of objectivity which marks the seasoned…
The brutal battle Jesus fought to obtain our freedom from sin is described. Adam left us a death sentence: We are separated from God as a result of sin. Sin…
Many of you have heard the tale of the mouse who rode the elephant across a bridge. After getting to the other side, the mouse said, “We really shook that…
Our lives must be lived in complete surrender to Jesus, constantly from and eternal perspective. Our daily work and ministry will be fruitful as we obey Him. Even though heaven…
“Mommy, I’m so thirsty. I want a drink.” Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do. She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of…
Abraham Lincoln once listened to the pleas of the mother of a soldier who’d been sentenced to hang for treason. She begged the President to grant a pardon. Lincoln agreed.…
God’s limitless love is beyond logic. How can we pass it on? Love someone when they least expect it and least deserve it. Read Pastor Mark’s Sermon in Punjabi.
Dear Roger, I continually struggle with the story of Abraham and Isaac. In all truth, this story really bothers me. I realize that God did not have Abraham…
Old Testament shepherds sacrificed their sheep. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, sacrificed Himself for us, His sheep. False shepherds only care about fleecing the sheep and stealing away their lives and…
The story of Abraham’s offering to the priest Melchizedek demonstrates that Abraham recognizes God as the source of all things. The natural response to a great God is to give…