James was concerned about the way his congregations were treating prominent people. Instead of simply welcoming them as members and inviting the to share in the church’s worship and mission, people were rushing around, fawning over the rich and famous, putting them in honored seats. And in the rush, the poor were being pushed into […]
Read: Matthew 18:15-20 “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, […]
Midway through a tactful explanation aimed at preventing misunderstanding among the Corinthians, a single word acts as a trigger to Paul’s exuberance in ministry. He is grammatically plodding along, putting his verbs and nouns in proper order; then suddenly one word quickens the pace. That word is yes. When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed […]
As the dust settled around Job, a tragedy confronted him. And when he needed God most, Job wondered why God seemed so elusive. Yet Job didn’t question whether God existed. He only wondered why he couldn’t find him. “Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don’t see him; quietly but surely he’s […]
In the first century, in the city of Colosse in Asia Minor, there lived a well-to-do man named Philemon, a family man with slaves and a house that served as the regular meeting place for a church. Paul met Philemon on one of his missionary journeys and discipled him when he became a Christian. Philemon […]
