Mark 10:45a, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve”For as long as I can remember, serving others, especially those less fortunate than me, has been a vital part of my life. I can vividly remember when I was about 5 years old Dad and his small group from church decided to do a service project in our neighborhood. The project was cleaning up an elderly lady’s yard of overgrown...  Read More

I recently read the account of an actress who auditioned for a particular part in a play. Instead of getting the part she wanted, she was given another part that she was far less interested in. Despite her initial disappointment, she went on to talk about all the things she learned from accepting a role that she would have rather not had. What a helpful picture for thinking about our own lives. In...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) Jeremy’s question of “who am I?” (2) a question of what provides my sense of value, worth, meaning, purpose — Emma Thompson (3) attempts to answer this externally through achievement or internally through soul-searching (4) what about asking God?Disconnected from Christ (17-19)1. De...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) recap (2) read passage (3) “calling” — singular vs. corporate, recognition that all of life with God is a response to what he has initiated toward us (4) format of covering passageThe Foundation of Christian Unity (4-6)1. Spirit (4): (1) “one body” = church (cf. 1:23) — the Spirit c...  Read More

Below are Pastor Ben's sermon notes from this past Sunday, in case they may be helpful for further study. Intro: (1) overview of Ephesians — messy (2) recap of ch.1-3 (3) intro of themes in ch.4-5 — growingThemes1. Growing in unity (4:1-6): (1) read v.1-3 — “unity” in 2:13-14, Acts 2:42, John 17 (2) not the same as uniformity (3) only possible through connection to the unity of the Lord— Tozer’s p...  Read More

I just reached 1 Chronicles in my Bible reading plan. If Leviticus is a good place to get confused, then 1 Chronicles is a good place to get bored. The first nine chapters are all names! Literally, it’s just name after name after name after name. Why would the author of Chronicles do this? The answer comes from the context out of which it was written. In the Hebrew ordering of the Old Testament, C...  Read More