“For the Word of God is alive and active.” – HEbrews 4:12
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No Other Gospel – Galatians 1:1-10
It’s easy to slip into a “Jesus plus” way of thinking and living: believing that there is something I bring to the table that makes me right with God and earns his favor. We as sinners have a gospel-aversion. The gospel tells us that our right standing before God is a free, undeserved gift that we can only receive, never earn. In Galatians, Paul is calling us back to the gospel of grace.
The King – Psalm 2
Psalm 2 is divided into 3 parts: 1) The world’s attitude towards God (vv 1-3); 2) God’s response (vv 4-9); and 3) The King’s invitation (vv 10-12). This psalm describes humanities rebellion against God, in trying to reject him as God and live as their own gods. It is in this context that we see the grace of God towards sinners, who died for us when we were his enemies, in order to reconcile us to himself and make us…
Two Ways – Psalm 1
There are only two ways to live – the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked. We are either orienting our lives towards God, or away from him. These two ways are described in the Psalm as having 1) two influences (vv 1-2), 2) two effects (vv 3-4), and 3) two outcomes (vv 5-6). A life lived for God is influenced by his Word, is fruitful, and finds ultimate refuge in him.
Jesus & Peter – John 21
In the epilogue to John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ interaction with Peter, which teaches us 3 things: 1) the ultimate question for the Christian is, “Do you love Jesus?”; 2) Love for Christ manifests itself in love for his people; 3) We too can be restored to Jesus by his grace when we falter and fail.
Jesus & the Witnesses – John 20
The fact of Jesus’ resurrection was central and pivotal to the earliest Christians. They, and all Christians after them, believe that Jesus’ resurrection is not just a myth or inspiring story, but a fact of history. In this climactic chapter of John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ resurrection appearances to the first witnesses of it. We see 1) eye-witnesses, 2) unsuspecting witnesses, 3) overcome witnesses, 4) sent witnesses, and 5) ear-witnesses.
Radical Hospitality – 3 John
John’s third letter challenges us to practice radical hospitality. Radical hospitality is loving and supporting others as Christ loved and supported us. There is only one way we can do this. We must remember that, at great cost to himself, Christ first welcomed us. So the message of third John is that Christ gave us a new home, and now we are called to welcome others in, even when it costs us greatly.
Rejoice in the Truth – 2 John
The apostle John is often called “the apostle of love” because his writings are full of the love of God. However, John, like many of us has a less than ideal past. John was called the son of thunder until the love of Jesus Christ changed him forever. In 2 John, the beloved disciple reminds us to rejoice in the truth of the Gospel that Jesus came to save sinners. Having been transformed by this truth, John tells us three…
Jesus & the Cross – John 19:17-30
The crucifixion of Jesus is a central aspect of the Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. In John’s account of the crucifixion, we see 1) The Glory of the Cross, 2) The Suffering of the Cross, 3) The Finality of the Cross, 4) The Love of the Cross, and 5) The Grace of the Cross.
Jesus & Pilate – John 18:28-19:16
In this passage, Jesus is handed over to Pilate for questioning and his trial before the Roman authorities. We see 1) The Hypocrisy & Hardness of the Religious Leaders, 2) The Weakness of the Strong, and 3) The Strength of the Weak.
Jesus & the Denier – John 13:36-38, 18:15-27
Most of us can see ourselves in Peter’s denial of Jesus – perhaps more than we’d like to admit. But, we can learn from Peter’s story – finding both warning and hope in it. In Peter’s story we are warned of the danger of spiritual pride, and we are warned of the danger of the “fear of man”. But, Peter’s denial isn’t the end of his story: it displays the hope of forgiveness and the hope of transformation, both of…
Jesus & the Betrayer – John 13:18-30, 18:1-14
Betrayal is a uniquely hurtful experience because it comes not from an enemy, but from a friend. In fact, the closer the friend, the greater the hurt of betrayal. In the story of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, we see Jesus’ friendship and kindness towards Judas, while Judas only continues to harden himself in his plan. All sin is like betrayal – turning against the one who has shown infinite kindness to us, and betraying our allegiance to the one to whom we…