This weekend I explored a widely recognized and often misunderstood verse: Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." You’ve probably seen it everywhere—on athletes' gear, social media posts, and even memes. It’s been called the "Superman verse," a kind of divine b...
This weekend I had the chance to preach in a series called "What's On Your Mind?" I shared a story that explores a profound cultural shift through the eyes of early followers of Jesus. Our story is set in the book of Acts, chapter ten, and revolves around the pivotal transformation experienced by...
The American cartoonist Alison Bechdel established a way to measure the representation of women in film and story. The Bechdel test (sometimes called the Bechdel-Wallace test) has three criteria:
- There are at least two women in it
- They have a conversation together
- The conversation is about some...
Consider the simple straw. Does it have two holes or one?
This question divides us into two-holers (one on each end) and one-holers (one hole all the way through). Let's see which one makes more sense.
For those of you who say it has two holes (one on each end), imagine shortening the length of th...
I finished up my three-week series this past weekend. As expected, it was a story about two dead people from Luke 16. The story contrasts an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. As we see how death reverses the role of both men, we find that the rich man still thinks everything should rem...
Last week, I began a three-week series of three consecutive stories that Luke recorded Jesus telling. All of them involve what we do with what we have. In the first week, I explored what is commonly known as the story of the "Prodigal Son," although I made the argument it was a story about brothe...
A few years ago, I noticed that while we often teach the stories in Luke 15 together (the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son, etc.), I hadn't heard anyone teach any of them with the connecting stories in chapter 16. But I think Luke is developing a theme we can easily miss. This weekend I be...
I remember sitting in a mentorship group years ago. I was with three other guys my age, along with an older counselor known as one of the premier supports for pastors in ministry. I was invited into this group because we were all planning on becoming Lead Pastors one day. This was a chance for us to...
I remember growing up in the church and constantly hearing about a "Biblical worldview." This was in contrast to any other way of viewing the world. Obviously, the good Christians had this elusive Biblical worldview, and their own selfish values and sin hindered everyone else's view.
There's just o...
Wm. Paul Young (author of The Shack) wrote the foreword to Brian Zahnd's book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God. In it he makes a profound argument.
"If transformation is by the renewal of the mind and I have never changed my mind, then be assured I am actively resisting the work of the Holy ...
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