Nothing in this world, no matter how precious, lasts forever. Hurricanes wash away photos and heirlooms, along with our homes. Tornadoes and fires destroy the oldest and sturdiest structures – even houses of worship are not immune from such devastation. And of course, as all of us discover sooner or…

So, why doesn’t everyone think the gospel is good news? Today, many people reject the claims of Christ because they don’t want to change their behaviors. Others maintain their trust in sex or drugs or money or politics to give them happiness, so they refuse to turn from these idols…

What does it mean to follow Jesus? Sure, it involves receiving the blessings of forgiveness and reconciliation He offers to us. But at its root, following Jesus requires us to live as He lives. And today’s passage shows us that one of the hallmarks of His life was humility. And…

Revelation seminars tend to flourish in times of great cultural stress, as church leaders insist that the visions John saw just have to correspond to contemporary events. But to all those who think they can discern the time of Jesus’ return, verse 36 should provide a rather clear rebuke –…

Yesterday, we saw that, even in the midst of our worst problems, we can have hope because of God’s great love for us. But how can we know that God loves us? In the midst of our sufferings, how can we be sure of God’s presence with us? Look at…

How can we have hope when we are dealing with chronic illness in ourselves or in our loved ones? Where’s the love when we are stuck in the middle of difficult relationships? With everything in our world seeming so unstable at this point, where’s the peace within ourselves and between…

Why do we give to those in need? To try to ensure that God will bless us in return? That’s the way ancient pagans thought – they performed certain rituals, sacrificing some of their wealth so that their false gods would give them more of the same thing. Instead, In…

Breathless headlines to the contrary, lies and deception are nothing new. Even in the time of the apostle John there were lots of spirits, all kinds of people and ideas in the world that pretended to be good and right. So, how can we know what to believe? Well, we…

Today we seem to have open season on leaders of all kinds – even before people are elected to office, they become targets of all kinds of abuse. Now, it is true that those who have been blessed to choose their own leaders need to take this responsibility seriously, and…

Why do we need to examine ourselves before we take the Lord’s Supper? Isn’t the whole point of the gospel that we are forgiven and freed from the power of sin and death? Isn’t the Lord’s Supper supposed to be a celebration of what Christ has accomplished? Yes, of course….