To come of age—at least in our family—means earning the right to watch The Wizard of Oz. (Isn’t a certain degree of maturity required for facing those evil monkeys?) The film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel is a classic story about the search for home. Dorothy and her dog Toto… Read More

It can be easy to connect with God and spend time reading the Bible when we feel peaceful and happy with everything in our lives. But what do we do when pain and loss have slammed into us, when our lives and hearts are a chaotic mess? It can be… Read More

Questions in a time of pandemic We all want answers. Many times they are easily given: What time is dinner? When is my trip home? Who will join me? Answers bring clarity and structure to our lives. They help us know what to expect, giving us concrete handles to order… Read More

Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! This past weekend we celebrated Palm Sunday. We looked on at the celebration from the outside, as we still cannot gather publicly for worship. Ironically, that may have been a fitting reality this time—seeing this from a distance. Read More

Last week was Veterans Day and I couldn’t help but remember that day by honoring a late neighbor and reflecting on how our lives intersected at a critical time in his life. The encounter also helped me to find a theme in Scripture that I had not noticed before.  … Read More

We try valiantly to limit media consumption in our home, but as any parent knows, it’s incredibly difficult. And as any stay-at-home parent knows, it’s especially difficult when your kids are operating at maximum “twerpitude” and driving each other—and you—crazy. Sometimes, when we are in each other’s faces, the combined… Read More

Almost every Sunday, churches across America remember Jesus’s “Last Supper” as they take communion together. Eating bread or wafers and drinking grape juice or wine, they recount Jesus’s words: “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. … This cup is… Read More

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus’s cry of dereliction from the cross recorded in Mark 15:33-34 haunts us each Lenten season. Traditionally, the church sets aside this season to ponder the deep mystery of God sundered from God, the eternal Son cast out from the Father’s… Read More

While Paul: Apostle of Christ covers events just after the New Testament’s coverage ends, it is richly informed by Scripture. It draws us into the ancient world, where those who follow Jesus are exploring how to live out their faith in critical situations. Viewers will come away with a… Read More

Shortly after graduating from college, I had the opportunity to study and live in Israel. Although I had grown up studying the Bible, there was nothing like living in the land where Jesus and the patriarchs walked. During that time, I read the Scriptures with fresh eyes, seeing old, familiar… Read More