Some believe we are called to peace with all. Others believe we are called to war with all who take even a slightly different perspective than we do. Both positions – both ways of viewing the world, Solomon would say, are deeply foolish. Both are sinful. Both are un-Christ-like. The Bible demands that we accept […]

What we see here, then, is that at its heart, the Sabbath is about God giving rest to his people, so that they might then extend that rest to others. That is the work of God that is highlighted on the Sabbath day, and that is the work that Jesus is doing on the Sabbath […]

We tend to cling to our standing, to our glory, and to our little kingdoms to grasp at some sense of our significance. That’s why we so often, like Saul, have so much trouble letting go of our kingdom and glory. But as Paul reminds us, Jesus Christ emptied himself in order to secure our […]

Accepting Christ’s healing, thanking him, relying on him, and persevering in faithfulness to him, will mean coming to Jesus again and again for ongoing help and healing. And that will include asking him to heal us at deeper and deeper levels – asking him to heal not just our tendency to sin, but that deeper […]

It is increasingly common in our culture for groups and institutions to be just a collection of individuals – individuals who may work together or enjoy spending time together, but who at a heart-level keep each other at arm’s length. But God has not called his Church to be such a people. He has called […]

Far too often we treat Jesus’s words as if his words are proposing a theory of reality, rather than understanding that his words are making reality. Brothers and sisters in Christ, you have the word of Jesus telling you who you are in him. Many other voices, in the world around you and in your […]

“What are we to carry away for ourselves from the experience of the great prophet thousands of years ago? …The whole importance of Isaiah’s seeing the Lord high and lifted up is that it is this Almighty God whose word he was now to proclaim to Judah. This was his commissioning as a spokesman, an […]

“But how do we tell, you and I, Christians that we are; how do we tell how much we really care about or think of God’s forgiveness? …by the alacrity and the generosity and the purity of the mercy, the forgiveness we extend to others.” Pastor Rayburn begins a summer series on Isaiah with “Forgiveness” […]

What barriers do we believe Christ will not cross for us? Gender? Race? Feelings of worthlessness? Self reliance? The same Jesus who seeks the woman alone in her shame, the same Jesus who seeks the Pharisee in his pride, he seeks us too! Pastor Nicoletti reminds us how Jesus breaks down barriers and makes himself […]