WSUpdate: Easter Week
Easter week is a special time for Christians to soak in the gospel. As we move toward Good Friday, the weight of Jesus sacrifice weighs heavily on our hearts. Reading the Gospel accounts leading up to his arrest, trial and execution help us to see the sorrow and conviction that drove Jesus to the Cross.…
WSUpdate: Peacemakers
The Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5 show a world that is upside-down beautiful. Jesus describes his followers as humble, pure, meek, hungry for good, and makers of peace. Disciples who learn from and spend time with their master begin to live like them, too. That combination of vulnerability and strength is the way that…
WS Update: Restoration
The Christian community, including our church, is a place where people who need grace help others who need grace. Galatians 6:1 says, “… you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Restoration is based on trust in the gospel to overcome anything…
WS Update: Reconciliation
Interpersonal conflicts are painful and disruptive. According to Matthew 18, reconciling with others takes self-reflection and courage. In simple terms, the first step is to figure out how you feel about the situation and the person: can you take the dispute to the person to make peace, or do you have underlying grudges or resentments?…
WS Update: Repentence
Repentance is refreshing in light of gospel hope. We don’t have to plead with God or outperform our shame with good deeds. Instead, “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (Psalm 34:5). Christian repentance is based on Jesus, who erases shame with his sacrifice. When your inner monologue…
WS Update: Lent Begins
Lent began last week on Ash Wednesday, but it’s not too late to start using this season to renew your Christian walk with Jesus. No matter who we are or what we have done, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all…
WS Update: Suffering and Hope
Yesterday we looked at a text that promises “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). A promise only a few lines removed from an assertion that following Jesus means sharing in his suffering (Romans 8:17). Taken together it…
WS Update: Freedom from Fear
Yesterday we continued our exploration of Romans 8 in which Paul ,the author of the letter, contrasts the fear that enslaves humanity with the acceptance that comes from God’s adoption (Romans 8:14-15). The nature of this fear is best expressed by Ernest Becker in his work The Denial of Death: “I think that taking life seriously…
WS Update: Shame, Snickering and Grace
Yesterday we explored the first of four sermons in Romans 8, which begins “Therefore there is now no condemnation.” Condemnation is the complete disapproval of a person, involving the power to punish. The Bible teaches that we are born into this world with a manifestation of divine condemnation: shame. Shame is the feeling that we are not…
WS Update: Wisdom’s Arc
Yesterday, we continued our series on the Holy Spirit, reflecting on God’s wisdom – a powerful force according to which the whole universe is ordered, and in which it coheres. The Greeks termed it the Logos, in the Bible it is often characterized as that which reflects God’s attributes. Scriptural wisdom contains a moral component, reflected…