“The Bible does not present us with texts to be mastered … but with a Word intent on shaping our lives, on mastering us.” Joel B. Green offers this valuable insight in a piece on the Catalyst site (”Cultivating the Practice of Reading Scripture”). This is… Read More
The end of a year is a great time to review what you’ve done. It’s also a chance for evaluation and recommitment. Sometimes a look back can remind you of who you are. That’s true for individual lives, for families, for churches, and even for blogs. We have worked to… Read More
Advent gives us a rich opportunity to come together around Scripture in our churches. For four weeks, we anticipate and prepare for Jesus’s arrival and return. This is both an internal and external process. We each look in our own hearts, readying ourselves to receive Jesus in his humility as… Read More
My friend Bruce Main taught me the word praxis. I’m sure I had run across it in some theology text, but Bruce was actually using the word in a sentence, like it meant something. We were meeting at a South Jersey diner a few years ago. Bruce was giving an… Read More
How does God want people to respond to him? Scripture gives us many answers to that question—worship, fear, obedience, love, even curiosity—but one of the most basic responses is thankfulness. The Israelites had a “thank offering” as part of their worship rhythms (Leviticus 7:11-15), and the Psalms bubble with gratitude… Read More
As we lead people into Bible engagement, there’s one great blessing we shouldn’t ignore: the text itself is readily available online. Bible Search, Bible Gateway, YouVersion and other services offer a free Scripture library unimaginable even thirty years ago. While… Read More
People with dramatic “Damascus Road” conversion stories often get a lot of press. We love to hear them talk. You probably know some people with testimonies like this, totally unexpected encounters with the living God. One friend of mine became a believer because she encountered Jesus in a dream. Far… Read More
Why is it so difficult to get men into small group Bible studies? I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who’s tried to figure that one out. For me, the revelation came when my church decided to hold a golf tournament. No, seriously. I don’t golf—but as… Read More
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, NIV) This is a go-to benediction for many pastors. The… Read More
My senior pastor and I preached through the book of James. Drawing inspiration from the “Do what it says” exhortation in James 1:22, we were trying a new tradition in our young Methodist church. After the Scripture reading each week, the congregation was asked to yell out, “SO WHAT?”… Read More
