We are addicting to achievement. Today, even companies and app developers are rewarding performance with badges and achievements because they know if we can measure our progress, we work harder. Many of us would love to have a divine leaderboard as...

When we consider the evil in the world at large, or the evil we see in our own hearts, we can become discouraged. We feel that God’s way may never come in our world. But Jesus compares his new way to a mustard plant – in our day, he could have...

There are times when our beliefs don’t actually inform our behavior. While we may say and even think a certain “belief,” our behavior doesn’t always line up. But it works the other way flawlessly. Our behaviors give us a 100% accurate view...

When someone hurts us, we wall ourselves off to stay safe, to ensure they can't hurt us anymore. But Jesus challenges us to forgive, to refuse to let our lives be ruled by what someone else did to us. Through the parable of the Unmerciful Servant,...

We look at the "stuff" in our lives as blessings from God. But what is all this stuff really for? Why does God give us material wealth? The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 points toward a beautiful truth: Our stuff is an invitation...

We often see church as a place to receive, to consume spiritual nourishment. But in a very strange parable, Jesus challenges us to move beyond consuming to contributing. He challenges us to use every resource we have at our disposal to bring about...

We have a sense that life with God is a chore, full of rules and regulations. People in the Church are often secretly jealous of those outside the Church because they get to have all the fun. But according to Jesus, God throws the best parties. And...

We typically imagine God to be in Church, among the religious people. Or possibly in Heaven, surrounded by worshippers. But when some religious people in his day find Jesus partying with sinners and are scandalized, Jesus tells them a story about...

We think of religion as a part of our lives, something we add to make the rest of our life better. But Jesus compares his new Kingdom to something so valuable it's worth our entire lives. Accepting Jesus' invitation to God's Kingdom changes how we...

If we choose to be in circles with those who're different from us, we run into a problem: how do we react when those explosive issues arise? Whether it's abortion, gay marriage, alcohol, gun control or something else, many issues can potentially...