The Local Church

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus delivers what is often titled, "The Sermon on the Mount." This sermon could more appropriately be titled, "The Sermon on the Monarchy." Here, Jesus paints a picture of what life under his rule and reign looks like and delivers a challenge to his disciples that was wrapped in cultural significance; a challenge to "Go Two".  Matthew 5:38-42.

Before a house is built the architect determines the width and height and depth of the structure. This is what Peter gives us in the opening paragraphs of his first letter to the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Peter's first letter is a beautiful letter to Christians everywhere at anytime who are experiencing suffering and need a dose of encouragement to Never Let Go.

Shaquille O'Neal undercover Lyft, the Road(s) to Emmaus, and how Jesus quickly becomes the host when invited as the guest. Eating a meal is one of the last things that Jesus does with his disciples before his death and it's the first thing he does after he is resurrected. It's at the table where Jesus breaks bread, blesses it, eyes are opened and lives our changed. Luke 24:13-35

Evangelize...just the word alone makes most modern Christians cringe, but should it? Jesus thought we would share the gospel wherever we went, and he certainly did. He just often did it in ways that we don't expect. "The Son of Man came eating and drinking." Jesus often shared the gospel by his invitations to eat and drink, he met people in their place of pain with love. It was the power of hospitality and inclusion, his words and actions that brought others to faith.

Apple's commercial during the '84 Super Bowl has gone down as one of the best and most provocative commercials in the past 50 years. It asked people to think differently and was intended to make us a little uncomfortable. Today's look at the gospels we've grown up with in protestant America (the Evangelical gospel, Reformed gospel, Prosperity gospel and Social gospel) will probably do the same thing for you. These gospel summations are often not wrong but incomplete when we compare them to gospel of Jesus and scripture. Buckle up.

Fake 20$ bills, the gospel and why calling people who are far from God “lost” may not be as demeaning as it sounds. Today we dive into the calling of Jesus for every Christian to “preach the gospel” in an era where the American Gospels are leaving us with, as David Foster Wallace once said, a collective sense of “lostness”.

What it means to be thirsty and why the gospel is for anyone and everyone, and for all of the time. At the Feast of Tabernacles in John's gospel, Jesus makes a bold claim that he is the source of new life and salvation, and the only thing required to receive this is simple: thirst. 

John 7:37-38.

There is an old adage that we often overestimate what can be accomplished in one year and underestimate what can be accomplished in five. God has done so much in our midst these past five years that we have to celebrate. Yet, while it's good to celebrate for a moment, there are five really important things we can't do if we want to celebrate five years from now. God comes where he is wanted...

Leon was taken from his mother at the age of two due to her illness, had a mental breakdown at the age of 12 and lost his father a few years later. Well on his way to becoming "just another statistic", the risen Jesus began to resurrect Leon's life. This is the hope of Easter, that no one is too far gone, that death no longer gets to have the last word and that sin no longer needs to determine the shape of our lives.

"The Shalane Effect", buying a house, and the good news of Jesus' arrival. Palm Sunday and Jesus' arrival is a critical moment in God's story from start to finish. Jesus' presence brings some promises along with it: the Kingdom of God is here. Yet at times, through the pages of scripture and the world around us, we are left asking like John the Baptist, "Jesus, are you the one, or shall we look for another?"