The angels declared almost two thousand years ago that God had broken into our world in a special way, that the savior of the world had come. Peace on earth was declared and it was foretold that this baby would save his people from their sins – save them from

“Love” is used in so many ways by so many different people it would seem like it can mean almost anything. If it can mean almost anything depending on who is using it and how they are using it, then does it really mean anything? Is such an important word

A few weeks ago a gentleman at our church asked me why I spend so much of my time addressing crime in the neighborhood.  It was one of those questions that is so simple to ask, while the answer is so big and has so many layers. For starters, we

Twelfth century monk, Bernard of Clairvaux developed a helpful model for expressing how Christians (can) mature in their faith – the four degrees of love. Loving yourself for your own sake (Selfish Love) Loving God for your own sake (Dependence Love) Loving God for God’s sake (Intimacy Love) Loving Yourself

Christians are people whose ultimate ambition is to embody the life and teachings of Jesus – a high aspiration for sure. The loftiness of this goal means that the Christian life, in this life anyway, will never be about arriving, but about journey and progress. Sometimes along this journey we

A couple of years ago my wife Carrie was driving through our neighborhood with several black teenagers in her minivan – mostly boys I believe. They were all friends of ours and part of our church. As they drove past a patrol car, the officer inside looked at them, pulled

[This is the third part of a three part series on God’s Forgiveness. Part one is “Did God Forgive Before Jesus?” and part two is “Does God Need Blood to Forgive?“] God did and is doing far more through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to redeem and heal

[This is the second part of a three part series on God’s Forgiveness. Part one is “Did God Forgive People Before Jesus?” and part three is “Jesus’ Death and God’s Forgiveness.”] Does God need blood to forgive people? Of course not! Do you need something to die or bleed for

[This is the beginning of a three part series on God’s Forgiveness. Part two is “Does God Need Blood to Forgive?” and part three is “Jesus’ Death and God’s Forgiveness.”] Did God forgive people, forgive sins, before Jesus? Of course. In case you thought God specifically needed the death of

There is a quote that I love which has been attributed to a number of different people that goes like this:  “Everything will be alright in the end.  If it’s not alright, then it’s not the end yet.” I think this quote does an amazing job of capturing the hope