“Pastor, would you consider being a character witness for John [not his real name]?” That was the question that I was presented with. I knew John, of course, I had known him when he was in church and I had also known him from visiting him in jail when he had landed himself in some…

The invitation came in a brilliant white envelope with gold foil accents. When I opened it up and pulled out the folded cardstock in the inside, I noticed that it had some heft to it – not just ordinary card stock, but something substantial. On the outside of the folded note there was my full…

What would you like to be judged on? It may seem strange, but we willingly sign up to be judged for different things. We sign up to have our fitness judged by a personal trainer at the gym. We sign up to have our intelligence judged by a test or by taking a class. Perhaps…

In the Philippines where I grew up, there was a president who used to occasionally dress up in a big hat and workers clothes and ride public transportation around the country. For him, it was the best way to really get a sense of what the country was like. On a few occasions, people would…

“Worship the LORD, your God.” Luke 4:8 The word “worship” can mean different things to us. The Greek word that Jesus uses in the verse above is “proskeneyo,” a word that has bowing down or even falling on your face at its root. If you asked most people today what worship means in a religious…

The disciples were right. The people could, and therefore should be expected to be able to feed themselves. Sure, it was quite a walk to town, but it was something that they could do. And after all, what were the disciples supposed to do? Steal a little boy’s lunch and feed just a few people?…

Jesus said, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) Those words of Jesus form our red letter challenge for this week. This is actually one that I have worked on for a little bit of time myself. It all started because I really don’t like…

They were disgusted with her. They had known about the affair for months now, but the two fornicators had eluded being seen together. That is, until today. Today they caught her in the act. They hauled her out, in a state of some undress. They looked at Jesus and said, “Teacher, this woman has been…

This week’s Red Letter Challenge comes from Matthew 9, verse 38. Most English translations translate this as “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest.” Some use the more archaic, “Beseech the Lord…” But the Greek word “deomai” is probably just as well translated “beg”. “Beg” is a challenging…

What do you do when you return home? I think a number of us have little routines when we get home. Maybe it’s a place where you immediately go when you get home, or a pet that gets some attention, or a person that you talk to right away. I remember my parents calling me…