Recently we had a missionary share some stories during a Sunday morning service. This man loves people passionately, and loves Jesus even more. Image via Pixabay His stories were full of his care and compassion for others, including talking about Jesus to anyone who wanted to listen, with numerous people choosing to trust in Jesus and follow Him as a result. It’s really the story of the Church, from the first days of Pentecost (Acts 2) and onward. For those... Read more
Years ago I met a man who’s mother had died of cancer. She had attended a word-faith sort of church that put a great emphasis on praying in faith and healing. Sadly, her healing did not come and she passed away. At the funeral, the pastor honoured the woman, but also rebuked the attendees, stating in no uncertain terms that if that people of God had more faith, this woman would still be alive today. Her son, the man I... Read more
One of the worst angry rants that was ever unleashed on me as a pastor happened over the issue of the nation of Israel. Image via Pixabay It was many years ago, and Israeli-Palestinian tensions were high, with each side attacking each other in various ways. One attack, which Israel later acknowledged and apologized for, involved an Israeli navy ship firing shells at a beach and killing several Palestinian children. The children had innocently been playing soccer when the Israelis... Read more
As a rule, I have traditionally been pretty bad at resting. Not for lack of effort! That being said, I am getting better at it, and am making it a much greater priority in my life. Image via Pixabay My troubles here cover a number of areas. Since childhood, sleep itself has been difficult for me. Even when I’m doing restful activities, I am not really resting. A quiet night at home with my family is no guarantee of it... Read more
It is one of the most well-known parables of Jesus, and yet many of us only latch on to part of the point. Image via Pixabay Here is Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son: 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant... Read more
Bad news for every domineering church leader, every top-down-heavy leadership structure, every husband who demands that his wife submit and “know her place,” every Christ-follower who gives orders and forces obedience to those “under” them: You have missed the mark on what Jesus had to say about leadership. Image via Pixabay In Matthew’s Gospel, we find a story of the mother of two of Christ’s disciples, who is seeking position and prestige for her boys: 20 Then the mother of... Read more
(Hint: It might not be the Church.) It should be, but might not be. Image via Pixabay In theory, the Church most certainly should be the most merciful organization on Earth. After all, we believe that Christ-followers are the ones who have personally experienced Jesus, “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” (Col 1.14). We are the ones forgiven our sins, and the ones who are therefore told to extend that same forgiveness to others when we are sinned... Read more
The Pharisees are perhaps the main villains of the Gospels. These popular religious leaders were constantly at odds with Jesus, challenging Him and His teaching, and eventually grew to hate Him so much that they conspired with others to have Him killed (e.g. Mt 12.14). Image via Pixabay The Pharisees were devout in their worship of Yaweh, fiercely committed to the Scriptures, reverent defenders of the Law, and completely devoted to the Jewish people. But they were also self-righteous, self-serving,... Read more
Can we ever entirely figure God out? I’m thinking the answer is no. And I’m perfectly alright with it. Image via Pixabay “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” It’s a phrase we are all familiar with. Although it isn’t explicitly found in Scripture, there are certainly countless stories in Scripture of God acting in a way that seems confounding, such as calling Abraham to sacrifice his son (Gen 22), drawing Israel into an impossible situation at the Red Sea (Ex... Read more
In the 16th century, Christianity changed forever. The Western Church went through a season of seismic change. Now commonly called “The Reformation,” a series of teachers and churches began to challenge the status quo of the dominant Roman Catholic Church, calling into question many of her established doctrines and practices. Image via Pixabay The result was the birth of “Protestantism,” a “protest” movement (hence the name) that split off from the Catholic Church and began a whole series of new... Read more
Third Way Christians
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In