1 Samuel 14:1-14 has been a very motivational passage for me for a long time. Hearing a sermon on this text 10 years ago was highly instrumental in pushing me to take the faith plunge to plant a church. There are several remarkable traits within this text: 1. Saul and Jonathan knew the same things […]
Jesus’ Authority Keeps Us Unshakable When Suffering Comes
I had the opportunity to preach at Trinity Church in Lansing this past Sunday on Romans 8:31-39. Romans 8:31 and Romans 8:37 are home run verses that we love (and I love), but if we’re not careful they can become verses we take out of context and use to formulate a theology that bad things […]
Why “All Ways Lead to God” Offends Me
It’s very politically correct nowadays to say that all ways lead to God. Your view, my view and their view are all equally true, and to say otherwise is extremely offensive. This offends me. This first and foremost offends my intellect because it simply doesn’t make sense. If I believe
Being “Gutsy” for God or Simply Wrong and Offensive
Within the past year I’ve told God I’ll say anything he wants me to say, no matter how scary or counter-cultural, as long as I know it’s from him. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know I write about a lot of (what some might call) “gutsy” things for a pastor such […]
Faith’s Grand Paradox About Your Doubts: Love Trumps Information
Ken Wytsma’s most recent book The Grand Paradox, addresses many of the tensions believers and non-believers feel toward the Christian faith. Ken is founder of The Justice Conference coming up June 5-6 in Chicago and is also the author of Pursuing Justice. Tensions within the Bible and Christianity abound. Many of these tensions push people […]
Jesus is not a crutch
I will sometimes hear people say that Jesus is just a crutch for needy people. They don’t need Jesus because they are strong and have their head on straight. Faith is just what some people need to get through life, something hopeful to believe in to make life worth living. It’s helpful for the poor […]