Stephen stood before the 71 members of the Jewish Sanhedrin, after having lies stirred up about his preaching (Acts 6:10-14). Upon hearing Stephen’s sharply pointed sermon directed at them, these Jewish supreme court justices “cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him” (6:57-58). The next…

Has someone ever asked you why you are part of the church that you are? There are surely many reasons that someone could offer (and often, very personal reasons) to that kind of question, but can I ask you to think about something? If someone asked you the reason you are part of your church, could you answer, “Because it’s the one you read…

Jesus and the apostle Peter had a necessary and even therapeutic conversation in John 21. Peter had vehemently denied Jesus three times while his Savior and Friend stood on trial. So, in this conversation, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” (21:15-17). Much is often made about the fact that Jesus used two different Greek words in asking Peter of his love. However, let’s…

After a night of anguish, mockery, lies, beatings and fake trials, Jesus was sentenced to execution by crucifixion by the spineless governor Pilate at 6:00 a.m. (John 19:14). He bore His cross to travel from the Praetorium to Golgotha (John 19:17). Apparently, the weight of the cross was too much for His battered, weakened and anemic body to bear, so they laid the cross…

There is a battle going on right now in the courts over one state’s 1931 ban on abortion. Can’t you hear the arguments in your imagination? “Oh, c’mon! That is ancient history! We’ve grown as a nation since then! We are so much more advanced now! We’ve got move on beyond our foolish, closed-minded past!” Is a 90-year-old ban on abortion all that naïve? What about a 2,000-year-old ban? Jesus…

The thought of whether Jesus loved the Father may have never crossed your mind. It may be one of those obvious things—“Well, of course He loved the Father! That’s just a given!” But, do we have any evidence of it? Note carefully what Jesus said in the last verse of John 14.  “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as…

We want our kids to grow up to be responsible, productive adults. So, we train them to take on responsibilities and we encourage them strive for greatness. Those are ideal and needed life qualities, but what happens when those “needed life lessons” run up against the church? We want our kids to succeed, so we may push them to push themselves and strive for…

An expert in the law of Moses came to Jesus and attempted to “test” Him, however, he was the one who got tested. Luke tells us that he was “wanting to justify himself” as a keeper of the law, when he said to Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29). Jesus told the familiar parable of “The Good Samaritan” to identify “who” a neighbor…