The last half of John 3:22 contains a short phrase that speaks volumes about how Jesus often ministered while on earth. Following his one-on-one encounter with Nicodemus, John records this little bridge verse, “After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing.” So, here we have a picture of Jesus coupling community and ministry—...  Read More

I recently read of an art gallery that has an exhibit for children, one in which they are given a blank piece of paper and placed in front of a mirror so they can attempt to draw a self-portrait. If you had to draw a picture of yourself as you enter this new year, what would you draw? Are you expectant or regretful, hopeful or cynical, self-confident or self-condemning, trusting or fearful, tired ...  Read More

Praying With Nehemiah  “And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinne...  Read More

Bible Reading Resources ESV Study Bible NLT Life Application Study BibleBible Reading Plan Generator – a great way to create a customized reading planbible.com – a great site that includes an app for your phone and a number of different scripture reading plans (scroll down on the homepage to see the list of reading plans)Family Worship, by Donald Whitney – helpful little book for kick-starting fam...  Read More

Fighting for Joy During the Holidays    The fight for joy for a follower of Christ is never-ending. In our recent sermon on Romans 5:1-11, we looked at how one of the weapons we use to fight for joy is consistently reminding ourselves of what is true for those who have saving faith in Christ. We “preach the gospel” to ourselves daily, remembering that we have been forgiven, made righteous, adopte...  Read More

The Patriarch of Peace  In Zechariah’s prophecy over his son John (later to be known as John the Baptist) in Luke 1:68-79, Luke employs a fascinating literary technique called “chiasm.” It is a technique that repeats certain themes in order to emphasize a central theme that is present in the middle of all the surrounding themes. You can see the themes below through the specific words used:  Visite...  Read More