gospel 101
Suppose there was a nonbeliever visiting your home church. At the end of the worship service, your pastor asked you to share the gospel with the guest. What would you say to him? What about the good news would you present?
the One who confounds
My 11-year-old son Wyatt loves to watch some videos called “Minute Physics.” They feature a young, genius professor who answers mind-boggling questions such as “What is dark matter?” and “How does the sun work?”
carrying your cross
My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2012. I shared with a friend about the challenges this situation had posed for me. As we talked, he gently told me that this is the cross I have to carry. “Carrying your cross” means living with sickness or a child with a disability, or financial problems, or any difficult circumstance of life. But when Jesus tells us to carry our own crosses, is He referring to life’s burdens?
making room
Our voices resonating throughout the living room, last Christmas Eve was like many others as we read Scripture, took communion, and sang together. However, the words of one song took on new meaning. Having recently sold our home, we had been living for the past month and a half with my husband’s parents. Graciously, they had not only offered us the use of their home as they traveled but had even thinned out closets and emptied dresser drawers for our use.
marked
Ash Wednesday is commemorated 40 days before Good Friday. The officiating minister marks the forehead of each person with ashes in the sign of the cross. Putting ashes on oneself signifies repentance and remorse for sins (Job 42:6; Luke 10:13). The minister applying the ashes says, “You were made from dust, and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19), or “Repent of your sins and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).
the stories we tell
I’m often disappointed with kids’ Bible story books. They usually paint a sugary picture that presents the Bible as a very safe and manageable book. Often, you get a collection of pithy moralisms that you could get just as well (better, perhaps) from Aesop’s Fables.
With this posture, the Bible’s truths have lost their scandal; they don’t require a cross or…
cradle, cross, and crown
What do you consider to be a good representation of Christmas? The potbellied Santa Claus? The nativity scene complete with baby, hay-filled manger, and donkeys? The iconic Christmas tree? For Luke, Christmas was best represented by a cradle, a cross, and a crown.
A cradle. The angel Gabriel told a confused young virgin that she “[would] conceive and give birth to…
