“We are suspicious of grace. We are afraid of the very lavishness of the gift.” –Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time If you ate your broccoli, you got dessert.  If you studied your flashcards, you got a good grade. If you worked hard, you got promoted. In every stage of our lives, we […]

“His relationship with Christ was such that his happiness was out of the reach of his enemies.” –eyewitness of Pastor Jonathan Edwards being fired from his church Jonathan Edwards was a household name in New England in the mid-1700s. He was the leader of a movement history now calls “The First Great Awakening.” It was […]

Jesus said, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or […]

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As […]

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”–Lewis B. Smedes, author I’m a Green Bay Packers fan, which means I grew up a fan of having a “chip on your shoulder.” Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was certain that he was the most talented player available to be drafted into […]

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Peter took him aside […]

“The tall blade of grass gets cut first.”–well-known Eastern proverb”Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”–well-known Western proverb (often attributed to Oscar Wilde) So which is it? Is the path to the good life found in the Eastern way? In conforming, losing your self in the group, working towards the greater good and for a higher […]

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Simon Peter […]

“Tell me about the God you left behind. I probably don’t believe in him either.”–Mark Paustian, professor The more people I talk to in Chicago, the more answers I get to the question: “What’s your opinion on Jesus?” Many people have high opinions of him. But, there are also many who have been taught wrongly […]

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for […]