What is the church? A typical, modern-day conception of the church is that it is a building where you go to hear preaching and singing once a week (or at least on Christmas and Easter).  But the question is a bit misleading. The church is not so much a what but a who. According to Scripture, the […]

As Abraham and Isaac journeyed up the mountain in the land of Moriah, Isaac asked: “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7).  By faith, Abraham responded that God would provide for himself the lamb. Few, if any, could comprehend that centuries later a child would […]

At Christmastime, we love to sing traditional carols and hymns, proclaiming that “all is calm, all is bright ’round yon virgin mother and child—holy infant so tender and mild.” With such a peaceful description of Jesus’ birth, it’s easy to forget the bitter cup of God’s wrath which he came to drink in full. In […]

The religious elite in Jesus’ day were guilty of many sins—hypocrisy, self-righteousness, pride, and so on—but one of the most deadly was the sin of presumption (Rom. 2:4). Claiming to be the physical descendants of Abraham, they presumed that they belonged to the people, the kingdom, of God; this is why the call to repentance […]

Throughout Luke’s gospel, the advancement of the kingdom of God has evoked one of two responses: acceptance or rejection. In the healing of the crippled woman in Luke 13, we see both (v.17). Immediately following this miracle, Jesus gives two parables to explain how, despite opposition, the kingdom of God would spread and make an […]

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of both love and wrath, of holiness and mercy, of righteousness and grace. Though all have sinned and are rightfully deserving of God’s judgment, God sent his Son into the world not to bring condemnation but salvation.  Now, because of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put […]

While the second coming of Jesus Christ is clearly taught in Scripture (Luke 12:40;  1 Thess. 5:2-4; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15), many in the church today are either consumed with making fanciful predictions about his return or simply neglect this doctrine out of frustration and confusion. For a disciple of Jesus, however, neither of […]

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15 ). With this saying, Jesus launches into a discourse on the relationship between true discipleship and material wealth. Here we discover one of the most profound and practical implications of the […]

The Scriptures are abundantly clear that God is not merely concerned with our outward appearance, which man can see, but with the inward condition of our heart (1 Sam 15:22; 16:7; Hos. 6:6). While there are certainly good works that accompany true saving faith (Eph. 2:10), we are often tempted to substitute religious activity for […]