Three frogs sat on a log. One frog decided to jump off. How many frogs were left? I heard this story problem at the Emergent Leadership training that I went to last week. The answer, counterintuitively, is “3”. Three frogs were left on the log because “deciding to” do something and doing something are different.…
A Jesus Centered Community of Scripture, Faith, and Grace
Posts from January 2015
There are some things we want God to forget. For example, perhaps he’s called you to minister to the homeless, but that makes you very uncomfortable. Or maybe he’s called you to minister to your brother who has fallen away from the church, but broaching the topic is always awkward. You wouldn’t mind if God…
When you play “Follow the Leader” as a kid, it always starts out nice and simple. You’re just walking in a line. Then your leader starts to hop on one foot, and then another, and then he’s flapping his arms, and then he’s skipping, and all of a sudden, you’ve lost the pattern. It’s not…
When I was in seventh grade, I decided I no longer wanted to go to Sunday school. I explained this to my parents in no uncertain terms. I had confirmation class at school AND at church. I was getting quite enough religious education, thank you very much. I didn’t need any more. My parents listened…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, I think we can all definitively say that we know Jesus. We may have met him through different paths, but we know Jesus. It’s a fact. And now it’s time to ask, “What do we do next?” Let’s look at the first chapter of the book of John to answer…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley You’re used to Jesus saying, “Follow me.” You’re not used to Jesus saying, “I’m following you.” But Jesus is following you – just in a different sense of the word. He’s keeping track of you. He knows you well. He never loses sight of you. Psalm 139 puts it this…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley A sprinkle of water, some words spoken, the sign of the Cross, and baptism is done. It’s a simple thing, and sometimes we don’t think too much of it. But if we examine the Scriptures more closely, we can see that baptism is truly a miracle. For example, check out…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley We’ve been given the voice of God. Just take a minute and process how awesome that truly is. After our salvation, I don’t know if there’s a more awesome gift. We speak with the power and authority of God. As Jesus put it in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley I’ve finally found a Bible passage that is all about me. Listen: “The voice of Mary flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of Mary shakes the wilderness. … The voice of Mary makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare.” That’s totally legitimate, right? When I speak,…
By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley At first glance, this Psalm makes the Psalmist sound like a conceited jerk. I am “wiser than my enemies,” he says (verse 98). “I have more understanding than all my teachers” (verse 99). “I understand more than the aged” (verse 100). I hold back my feet from every evil way.…