He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.Luke 24:25-27Thursdays are for theology and for the next few months we are going to spend Thursdays expl...  Read More

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3:5-6Where do we find wisdom? Who can we trust? This has become a complicated question today.For instance, thirty years ago most people would say you can trust the news. But now, we don’t because there’s too many contradictory reports and we th...  Read More

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.Philippians 1:9-11What do your prayers sound like? Look like? This?This is Paul’s prayer for the Ph...  Read More

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Philippians 2:12-13Our salvation is not simply a matter of believing in God until we die. We have been saved in order to love God and love pe...  Read More

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17I consider myself a pretty self-sufficient person. I like to solve my own problems. I spend time reflecting on my life, my weaknesses and my strengths. I think about ways to grow and to follow Jesus more faithfully.Do you see yourself as pretty self-sufficient?One thing the last twenty-five years of being in Church has convinced m...  Read More

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:3-6Have you ever started something that you didn’t finish? I’ve got a bunch of projects like...  Read More

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.1 Thessalonians 4:13-14I got news this week from an old friend that they had just been diagnosed with an agg...  Read More

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.John 10:27-29Before Easter we left something unfinished and I don’t like unfinished things. On Thursdays, we were working through TULIP, a...  Read More

In peace I will lie down and sleep,    for you alone, Lord,    make me dwell in safety.Psalm 4:8How do you go with sleep?For many of us, we have grown up hearing that 7 or 8 hour of sleep is the goal and that good sleep is crucial to a good life.But I’m not here to talk about a lack of sleep related to lifestyle or health factors but rather to stress and anxiety.Most of us can remember one of thes...  Read More

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deaconsGrace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.Philippians 1:1-2We are going to spend the next few weeks in Philippians before we go there for our next Sermon Series.Philippi was a Roman colony in north-eastern Greece. It was a melting pot of...  Read More

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and tremblingPhilippians 2:12Is salvation simply a matter of believing or even ‘making a decision for Christ’? Paul reminds us that salvation is a matter of ongoing faith.We must continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The ...  Read More

May my cry come before you, Lord;    give me understanding according to your word.May my supplication come before you;    deliver me according to your promise.May my lips overflow with praise,    for you teach me your decrees.May my tongue sing of your word,    for all your commands are righteous.May your hand be ready to help me,    for I have chosen your precepts.I long for your salvation, Lord,...  Read More