Send a text

Of all the prophecies of Daniel, none may be more important than The Vision of the Seventy Weeks. It is detailed and difficult. But Daniel was commanded to know it and understand it. Therefore, we need to know it and understand it, too.

Send a text

Sometimes the Parable of the Prodigal Son is called the Parable of the Faithful Father. The focus really is on how loving and forgiving the Father is. Whether it is the shepherd seeking out the sheep or the woman searching for the coin or the dad anxiously awaiting his son, our Heavenly Father wants us found – returned and restored.

Send a text

Maybe the most beloved of all of Jesus’ parables is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Actually, that one is one of three parables told back-to-back-to-back in Luke 15. And each one delivers the same message. Whether it is the Parable of the Lost Sheep or the Parable of the Lost Coin or what we could call the Parable of the Lost Son, each one reminds us that without Christ we are all hopelessly lost.

Send a text

You hope that you learn a lot BEFORE an exam, but you are sure to learn a lot BY WAY of an exam. It is the great revealer. Pretending time is over, and who you are and what you know will be evident. So, take a deep breath, steady yourself, and do this spiritual check-up.

Send a text

Exams are not the most looked-forward-to things. Kids get nervous stomachs on the way to school, and adults dread to the point of “white coat syndrome” having to go to the doctor. But exams are necessary, and in the end, they are for our own good. Spiritual exams make people uneasy. Like any other exam, we are afraid of what might be found out. But there is a spiritual check-up that God requires of us, An Essential Examination.

Send a text

I’ve always felt like the hymn I Surrender All is the hardest song to sing in the whole hymn-book. It’s not hard because the melody is difficult, though. It is hard because the message is difficult. All to Jesus I surrender / All to Him I freely give. All? That’s what Jesus demands: all. These are His Demands of Discipleship.

Send a text

The path to discipleship is not an easy path. Rather than highlighting the benefits like a good salesman, Jesus focuses on the difficulties people who decided to follow Him would face. In this passage, He actually talks more about what kind of person cannot be His disciple more than sending around a sign-up sheet and boosting His membership. These are the Demands of Discipleship.

Send a text

The cross is so important to us. We sing about it – The Old Rugged Cross, At the Cross, The Beauty of the Cross, The Power of the Cross. We preach about it – from passages like Romans chapter 5, 1 Peter chapter 3, or this one today from 1 Corinthians 1. We Preach Christ Crucified.

Send a text

We seem to have emojis and icons for everything. If there is any one symbol that represents Christianity, then it has to be the cross. The cross of Jesus is central to everything that we believe. We know that Jesus hung on a cross because of us and for us. Therefore, as Paul said, We Preach Christ Crucified.

Send a text

An RSVP works both ways. The most expected RSVP tells your host that you are glad to attend their event. But sometimes with the RSVP you have to send your regrets. Maybe you’re genuine in your regrets and maybe it’s just an excuse. Either way you are going to miss out on something someone wants you to be a part of. What if we got genuinely excited about being invited?