Pastor’s Blog (Page 23)

If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. The book by that name* is of course a reference to the disciple Peter, who responded in faith to Jesus’ invitation to walk to Him on the water. He believed Jesus could enable him to do what was impossible otherwise.** This Sunday it will be our opportunity to respond to Jesus’ invitation to walk on…

The Philippian, Thessalonian, and Berean followers of Jesus were begging. Begging earnestly, begging insistently, begging urgently. For what? They were begging for the favor of participating in the support of the saints.1 You see, the believers in Jerusalem were suffering from poverty and a famine. And hundreds of miles away in the Macedonian province of Greece,…

The Global Impact Celebration (GIC) is almost here! So this Sunday we’ve asked guest speaker Dr. Bill Jones to whet our appetites for all things missions. We’ll be pausing our journey through the book of Galatians for these next 4 Sundays. Actually, however, you might say it’s not so much a pause as it is an opportunity to flesh out (catch the…

Hypocrite. What a stinging indictment! In the letter to the Galatians, Paul charged some people with hypocrisy. Ouch! No doubt you’ve seen the masks ancient Greek actors wore on the stage: a smiling mask for when they recited lines of comedy, and a frowning mask for when they spoke of tragedy. The actors who wore these masks had their true identity hidden so that they…

Ever heard of Diocletian? He was the emperor of Rome from 284 to 305. What was his claim to fame? He sent an edict around the Roman empire in 303 that all Christian scriptures were to be gathered up and burned.1 Then, over a burned and extinguished Bible, Diocletian built a monument on which he wrote these triumphant words: Extincto nomene Christianorum (“The…

And they were glorifying God because of me.Galatians 1:24 What a wonderful life outcome! People were glorifying God because of Paul.1Not so with these: They took little thought for God’s glory. Only their own. You can tell a lot about something by who gets the credit. If people are glorifying God, it’s probably the real thing (e.g., Luke 17:15; Acts 4:21). Conversely, if…