“Child-Like Faith”

A few years ago, I was asked why we needed to study the Bible—in particular, why did we need to study the context of the passages, or what the passage might have said in its original Greek. Why couldn’t we just accept what it said, the way we did when we first read...

Love is…

I am fascinated by how 1 Corinthians 13 is used in Christian circles as a declaration of love and unity. It’s been read at most—if not all—of the weddings I’ve done over the decades. A lot of people feel cheated if it’s not read; in fact, many people believe that it’s...

Is God really in the details?

The origin of the quote “God is in the details” isn’t clear, but it has been attributed to various sources. Some believe it was first used by Gustave Flaubert, a French novelist who believed that perfection could only be achieved through meticulous attention to...

Jesus, The Bread of Life

In the latter part of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of being the Bread of Life. He does so in fairly graphic terms that was difficult for some of his followers to hear and, as a result, many turned away and stopped following him. At this point...

Blessed

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is, undoubtedly, the greatest sermon every preached, and it begins with something called the Beatitudes. Generally speaking, it’s a Ways to be blessed—all good stuff, right? Well, sure, we say, of course they are! But I’d invite you read...

“Amazing Grace”

When we hear the word “grace”—what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many—myself included—we think of the hymn Amazing Grace, particularly the very first line: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…” John Newton wrote those...