“…among whom you shine like stars in the world.” (Philippians 2:15) I’ve never been one to scroll through the news much. I get easily frustrated and cynical with the way things are, so instead of falling down that pit of despair, I just don’t give it much attention. Avoidance? Probably. And that’s not a better option than doom scrolling either. Thankfully, we have a good role model for us in the Scriptures. Paul knew the darkness of the world, describing it as a “crooked and perverted generation,” yet he still faced it head on (Phil. 2:15). Instead of pretending like none of the corruption, s ..read more

All through the Bible, we’re told to fear God. And we instinctively flinch when we read it. Fear is a negative thing, right? Why would anyone want to draw near to a God who only wants to instill fear in us? Well, there’s a difference between fearing God and being in fear of God. There are two principles from the Psalms that help us see the difference. 1. Fearing God means appreciating his forgiveness.“With you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:4) Maybe you were expecting the Psalm to say, “With you, there is forgiveness, that you may be loved and appreciated.” Or m ..read more

The city of Philippi was founded in 356 B.C. by the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip of Macedon. He drained the swamps, built infrastructure and placed settlers there to protect the local gold mine. In 44 B.C., Mark Antony and Octavian of Rome defeated the conspirators who assassinated the first Emperor, Julius Caeser, at the Battle of Philippi. Two years later, Octavian (now calling himself Caeser Augustus) defeated his now rival Mark Antony. Augustus then rewarded his Roman troops by making Philippi a Roman colony where the veterans of his army could settle tax free. Philippi quic ..read more

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) Do you want to be happy? Americans believe in pursuing happiness. But many things in the world that promise happiness don’t last. Something that seems like life, can also bring death. For example, if you think comfort is everything, sitting in traffic for hours would kill you. And if you have loads of money and things, sometimes your possessions end up possessing you and your heart. Not happy. Here’s the thing: People often make temporary, created things and make them the most important thing in their lives. But only Jesus Chris ..read more

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. (Philippians 1:12-13) Paul is suffering because he is imprisoned in Rome. We learned last week that a Roman prison was a hole in the ground and Paul was thankful to the Philippian church for providing money so that he had food to eat. No one likes suffering – yet everyone suffers. In this past week, I heard from a friend who fell and broke her hip, my n ..read more

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (Colossians 3:20) Paul is writing to the church in Colossae, located in the Lycus River Valley about 120 miles east of Ephesus, in what is today south central Turkey. Local indigenous languages and customs were still predominant in the surrounding countryside, but in the town, Greek was the most used language and Greco-Roman customs were common. So Paul is writing to people whose family life is generally structured like a Roman household. In such families, the father is the head with absolute legal authority over the family ..read more

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2) Proverbs 31 depicts an ideal wife and husband. These ideals are impossible without God fueling you by his grace. How do we get there? Being grace-fueled starts with Jesus. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. But setting your mind on things above is not possible without the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You first must be raised with Christ and put on your new self in him. Additionally, you a ..read more

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. (Ephesians 4:32) I’ve been watching a video feed of an eagle pair that is incubating three eggs, high up in a Jeffrey Pine tree in Big Bear Lake, California. The mother and father take turns sitting on the eggs. Periodically, they stand up and roll the eggs. The mother takes longer turns than the father, but they trade places, so the eggs always stay warm. There have been several snow storms, yet the eagle stays in the nest. The father eagle sometimes catches a fish that he brings to the m ..read more

The Lord said to Israel, “I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13) In the final chapter of this epic book, God recounts from the time of Abraham how he had kept his promise to bring Israel into the Promise Land. Their 400 year-old dream had finally become a reality. God proved his faithfulness to Israel again and again. We see throughout the book of Joshua that God called, rescued, protected, empowered, and provided for them. He kept his end of the bargain ..read more

Over the past few decades, the term “evangelical” has become primarily a political label in America. It’s become a group of people who are defined by what they are against: abortion, LGBTQ rights, immigration, environmentalism, and in the past few years, masks and vaccines. While some of those positions have biblical support, social issues are not what “evangelicals” have historically been defined by. The term comes from the biblical word euangelion; which means “good news” or “gospel.” Evangelical is supposed to define what we’re for more than what we’re against. That’s why our denomination ..read more