I wrote this paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) for use in our small group Bible studies. I hope it can be a blessing in your life and ministry. God, you are our maker and King and we give all that we are to you. May we never take

We once thought that Christianity was brought by colonialism to the people of Africa.  That idea brings conflicting feelings for Christians.  It is wonderful when more people find that Jesus is the savior of their soul – their entire person – but it is an abomination for Christianity to be

Most of my ministry I’ve been sharing the hope of God’s healing and rescue, the Gospel, with people who knew they were not okay.  Whether it was an addiction, poverty, a mental disorder, a criminal charge, an ongoing struggle with anxiety or depression – there was something in their life

In the religious wars following the Protestant Reformation one of the things people fought over was Communion – also known as the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper.   Even though participating in this rite has been a regular part of the Christian life for Christians around the world for the last

The most divisive issue in American today is political affiliation – specifically presidential political affiliation.  It is more divisive than race or economics or any other issue that has been predominant in American public life. Hateful, contemptuous, and dehumanizing, rhetoric and memes can easily be found on both sides of

[I’ve written about this before, but it is an important topic that I thought could use a little updating] Not everyone interprets and understands the Bible or scripture the same way. People all over the world interpret the Bible from many different religious, political, and professional perspectives.  These people may

Jesus tells us both to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). I have spent a lot of years wrestling with what is the faithful thing to do when the two commands come into conflict. In violent confrontations is it right to use force to

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

[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 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