We got chickens for our backyard this year. I’ve learned that hens can be stubborn, fierce, and protective. We don’t have a rooster, though, so I haven’t gotten to experience our...

Imitating Christ requires significant humility and sacrifice. I’m always tempted to skip to the parts at the end about the “body of his glory.” Glory in Christ, however, is attainable only...

I find the image of living “in the house of the LORD” quite evocative. I think of my living space and how it’s the place where I do so many different...

When I read ancient texts like this one from Genesis, with details about the preparation of animal sacrifices offered to God, the distance between Abram’s time and mine seems immense. I...

Upon entering a church, I noticed that the children were picking up small bags and taking them to their seats. “What are those?” I asked. “Those are activity bags with crayons,...

Jesus begins his ministry not by joining with family and friends to celebrate his ordination but rather by being cast into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. When I...

How reassuring to hear Paul proclaim, “All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.” Christians are those who, at least on a weekly basis in our worship, “call on...

There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, we committed an unusual act: We confessed our sin. Feel sorry for those who brag, “I will never apologize for anything.”...

On Ash Wednesday the church makes us admit our mortality, finitude, and sin. Not too many will be in church on this day. Few of us are willing to hear—in spite...

Many’s the time I’ve had someone show up at church after a long absence, explaining their return like this: “I’ve been going through a tough time in my life. Big problems....