When I was younger, I looked up to a lot of people. I wanted to be just like them—I would wear the same clothes as certain celebrities or watch the same...

Paul reflects on how he was raised to honor the letter of the Jewish law as best he could. For Paul, being a member of the tribe of Benjamin is an...

Many of us are constantly inundated with busyness. Email inboxes demand our attention. Our calendars are full with appointments. Our sabbath days often become full of chores—the exact opposite of the...

Today we read more of the commandments God gives the people of Israel through Moses on the mountain. We recognize the familiar “thou shalt nots,” and the passage ends with a...

In this passage, we witness Moses delivering the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel. When we think of the Ten Commandments, we may remember memorizing them in Vacation Bible School...

If the popularity of superhero comic books, action movies, and comic conventions are any indication, our society is desperate for someone who will sweep in at just the right moment to...

“Listen, my people, to my teaching; tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth” (ceb). So many things clamor for our attention that it can be hard to know what’s...

“Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves” (ceb). The truth of the matter is that Jesus is better than everyone else, but...

Sometimes our greatest threat is not from what others do to us but what we do to ourselves. When I first began serving as a solo pastor, I was eager to...

Several years ago, I began a new job thousands of miles from family and friends. Not long after settling in, the peculiar rhythms and challenges of the position left me lonely,...