All You’ll Ever Need
The LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. Exodus 16:11–15 I...
Read MoreA Movement of People That Changes The World
When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. Ex. 14:31 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 God does not call people to a religion but to a movement. When you look at scripture, you see a movement. You see the formation of a tribe, God is not merely drawing the people he created to himself, but to each other. One one of...
Read MoreBe Careful So You Can Be Fearless
Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9 Being careful is not the biggest challenge for churches these days, not by a long shot. Being careful comes naturally to church folks. Fearlessness, however, not being risk averse, being willing to step out in trust — these are the things qualities that God calls for in us. God rarely calls us to careful, he calls us to courage. I think each of us could benefit from...
Read MoreA Theology As Big As The City
In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26–28 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility . . . . Ephesians 2:13–14 The world is going to hell in a hand-basket; war, strife,...
Read MoreBelong – Believe – Behave
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33–36 The Apostle Paul gets a bad rap these days. I talk with people who read the Bible and tell me they read the Gospels, but not the letters that Paul wrote to first century churches. “I stick to the story of Jesus not the other stuff; Paul...
Read MoreOpportunities and Intentionality
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4–6 This past Sunday many of us drove down to Cascades Camp to join folks from Creekside and many other churches, to worship together as the 4th of July Family Camp concluded. We decided to do this about a year ago and we have already decided to do it next year. Many of my pastor friends think I’m crazy to do this. “Wait,” they ask, “you close the doors...
Read MoreDo Your Best and Give Yourself a Break
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 If Jesus calls says his burden is light and his yoke is easy, how come so many folks come to church and regularly feel beat up? How come so many feel pressed upon by a heavy burden and a choking yoke? Something does not line up. Either we need to change Jesus or we need to change church. The easier of the two is to change Jesus — changing church is really, really hard. Thankfully, though it is often attempted, Jesus cannot be...
Read MoreLet’s Stay So We Can Go
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 Last Sunday was a blast! Great worship, mixed and mingled with the family business of dreaming and thinking about what’s next for us as a church. Specifically, how purchasing the building we worship in can help move us more fully into the mission God has called us to. I got goose bumps when JD announce that vote to move forward was unanimous. I am so excited to see what God does next! It was great to be joined Sunday by Stephen Hsiao,...
Read MoreCalled To Hope
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 As followers of Jesus we are a people of hope, called to experience the hope of Jesus and to be the hope to a world in desperate need of hope. Our hope flows from the reality that God has conquered death and has set in motion a project of restoration, a new creation if you will. This restoration project is underway and will one day be realized in fullness. The Kingdom of God has been...
Read MoreEvangelism: Ordinary Attempts
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:5–7 First A Few Stories: 1. I once talked to a woman who told me that she had suffered massive persecution because of their evangelism over the years; fired from work, friends lost, names called — even once coming to blows with someone. In response to my surprise at...
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