Thomas VanderPloeg

Sabbath, God's gift to us, is a time set apart to rest from work, worship God, tend to our soul, and bless others.

holy habits that help us love God and our neighbor, listen to the Holy Spirit, and become more like Jesus

Sometimes it may seem like the goal of Christian life is to escape from all that is evil and unhappy in this world; but the apostle Paul frames the “escape room” of this world a little differently in his letter to the Philippians.

By rewinding all the way back to the beginning of John’s gospel, we discover that John himself rewinds us all the way back to the beginning of Genesis; what is it that John wants us to see by turning his gospel all the way back to the beginning?

The resurrection of Lazarus points forward to other resurrections that are on the way; all reminders of the restoration of shalom.

Maundy Thursday and the scent of grace

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the apostle John focuses on the tension which is building up among the people who take note of Jesus.

Jesus uses the example of washing his disciples’ feet not only as an illustration of what he did for us on the cross, but also as a picture of how we are to live in response to God.