Political theater can be deceptive. At the State of the Union address, they were all there – the President and his cabinet, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Supreme Court. The most powerful people in the wealthiest, most powerful human society the world has ever seen. It’s easy…

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a firm foundation for your life, someone on which you can always rely? Well, verse 6 says that Jesus is the cornerstone, the One Who makes provides us the structure and support we need, the assurance that we are in the right place, lined…

What’s going to happen at the end of time? Isn’t it going to be scary, with a big war between the forces of good and evil? Well, some folks read the first part of this chapter that way, and compare it to the mention of Armageddon in the Book of…

Why is the Church so important? Why do we have to bother with organized religion? Can’t we just be spiritual? Lots of people ask these questions, and this passage has a lot to say about all of them. The main action of this passage is Peter’s statement of faith. After…

Can Paul be serious? How can I rejoice today, let alone always? Maybe you’re asking that question. Maybe you’re struggling with sickness in yourself or a loved one. Maybe you’re wrestling with an addiction or a besetting sin. Maybe you’re just tired out from the daily demands of life. And…

Living the Christian life isn’t easy, and it requires a lot of determination and endurance. Paul used the image of running a race, straining forward to win the prize at the finish (v. 14). But what is this prize? Yesterday, we saw very clearly it was not any of the…

Yesterday, we saw Paul pointing to the persecution he experienced as his greatest credential for preaching the gospel. In today’s passage, he goes further. He says that knowing Christ, even if it involves such suffering, is more valuable than anything else he could have in his life. And make no…

If you were applying for a job pastoring a church, what would you put on your resume? Your preaching skills? Your Biblical knowledge? Your counseling experience? Your history of involvement in projects like soup kitchens or Habitat for Humanity? Paul doesn’t mention any of these things. He doesn’t even boast…

This doesn’t seem to fit with the loving, welcoming picture we have of Jesus, does it? Why would he compare an anxious mother to a dog, just because she’s a Gentile? Is He buying in to some sort of idea of Jewish ethnic superiority? Well, we need to remember that…

Let’s face it – religious ceremonies are attractive, whatever form they take. From clutching a rabbit’s foot or wearing a rally cap to turning a prayer wheel or lighting a candle in a temple, It is a pleasant fiction to go through certain rituals, imagining that they have the power…