Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Knute Larson explains the COMBINATION LIFE Be With Me joins Pastor Knute Larson on the beach of Lake Michigan to hear his thoughts on the COMBINATION LIFE. That is, what are the responsibilities or the “job-description” of a believer .  On the other hand, what are the responsibilities or the “ job-description” of God Himself?  Who does what in the process of sanctification?  Perhaps you have wonde...

This morning we find Pastor Knute Larson on the shores of Lake Michigan.  We will hear about what work continues to drive him today.  He is involved in a task that carries forward his passion for mentoring the next generation of young leaders.  He is what he likes to call a “Coach of Pastors.” If you are a young-at-heart pastor, I think you’d be crazy not to find him at https://pastorknutelarson.c...

Today, Knute Larson encourages both Pastor and parishioner. He will tell us how the non-pastor can be a delight to their pastor. There is a charge to be engaged spiritually as well as in relationship.   What is wrong with this scenario?  A two year old goes tearing down the halls of the church, and the mother declares, “ Stop running, here comes PASTOR LARSON. ”  Only Knute could come up with the...

Imagine discussing something that 1000's of churches have found useful.  Imagine literally talking with the guy WHO WROTE THE BOOK and INVENTED ABF 's.  You don't really have to imagine.  Today, we are going to do it. Join me as I discuss a way of doing fellowship in the church with Pastor Knute Larson .  His book is Growing Adults on Sunday Morning or The ABF Handbook .  His idea i...

We finish the end of the gospels today in John and Luke.  Unfortunately, we didn't exactly start at the beginning.  What kind of a knucklehead doesn't start a multi-episode epic at the beginning?  George Lucas and me, that's who.  I'd like to 'finish' the gospels from the start to where season one began in Luke chapter 7.  Complete the cycle.  Please join me. The doin...

Jesus tells Peter he's going to die in a way that his abilities will be lost, he won't be doing what he wants, he won't be where he wants, and even he won't be wearing what he wants.  Even amidst all of this loss, FOLLOW ME to the end. Peter is probably pretty rattled.  Appropriately so.  His counter:  HEY, what about THIS OTHER GUY?  What about John?  Why is his path different...

America (and probably the country you might be listening in) is all about  doing  what I want when I want where I want wearing what I want heading in the direction I want Peter finishes a wonderful "do you love me? Yes I love you. Feed my sheep" time with the Lord.  It just had to be a highlight or dare I say THE highlight of his life.  It is intimate, a restoration, a pursuit by the Lor...

Peter has betrayed the Lord.  He has repented, but is waiting for restoration.  He's run to Jesus.  He's hurled himself into the sea towards Jesus.  He's ready, and now, after breakfast, he gets his chance. I am charmed that a huge offloading of responsibility is predicated by LOVE.  Do you love me?  Yes!  Then do this stuff.  It is the stuff I used to do and is most precious to me....

153 Fish gave their lives today so you could understand this revelation.  Let's not let their lives go to waste.  In the gospel of John he edits the Lords 40+ known miracles to just 8.  This is the last one. He lines up 153 fish, packs them together and then lets themselves be caught but not break the net.  They count them, because they know this is the world record. Jesus, at least today is...

The last sentence of the Gospel of Matthew.  It had better be good. ;-) Guess what, it is! Today God asks the IMPOSSIBLE again.  He asks that we be involved in a process that initially connects (belief) and then strengthens connection (sanctification) of a holy God/all powerful/all creating God with a sinful puny mankind and womankind.  Only God could even remotely handle this kind of work.  The A...

We look at a guy who doesn't believe today. Not just neutral unbelief. Active unbelief.  Jesus describes him as DISBELIEVING. It is Thomas, who when we last heard from him was ready to go to Jerusalem and die for Jesus.  He went a long way south since then. He gets a RESCUE mission from Jesus.  In the context of this epic moment of Jesus rising from the dead and giving the Holy Spirit to mank...

After the resurrection all four gospels have a commissioning.  The disciples get a JOB and a BENEFIT PACKAGE to facilitate the successful completion of that job.  The Job is to go and expand the borders of an invisible kingdom.  Go to the edge of the spiritual wilderness and push the invisible border around a probably uncooperative knucklehead.  Make the kingdom a little bigger by enveloping that...

Is there anything so rare as an open mind?  I didn't think so.  Yet, this is the critical business that Jesus is in: to open the crusty minds to His Word and to Himself.  This is the turning a heart of STONE into a heart of flesh. I suppose there is cracking open the  willingness to listen and perceive of God...but there is more: the is the cracking open the  ability to perceive God. Lord, pl...

The process of belief is messy.  The Bible is really quite bold in admitting it.  It just reeks of authenticity though.  It is true.  There is a lot of two steps forward, one step backward. So a knowledgeable, experienced, intimate group of Jesus' disciples hear some news and announce, and I quote, "He is risen indeed."  All good, at least externally and verbally. Then the risen Jes...

The long road of the slow-of-heart to Emmaus starts with eyes that were kept from recognizing.  But as the 7 mile walk goes on, they get HEART BURN. That is, the heart burn of the opening of Scripture.  Jesus walks them through the Old Testament, explaining how it is about Himself. And so, their hearts burn.  This is heaven touching the earth, one heart at a time.  It is the voice of Scripture, wh...

There's an old joke that ends, "If the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for me." On the road to Emmaus, on the road of the SLOW OF HEART, Jesus goes all Old Testament on the two walking with Him. He rebukes them for being slow of heart to believe the PROPHETS, that is, the Old Testament. The Old Testament is about Jesus.  No wonder He loves it.  It...

Jesus calls people of His own company SLOW OF HEART in a long account of the Road to Emmaus.  It is a long story, of a long road, of the Slow of heart.  He also calls them foolish.  I just couldn't go there today. Most disturbingly,  their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And how about all the truths?  Kept from that too?   You know we are slow and foolish of heart.  You see it.  You don&...

I fell asleep (punishable by death) we all fell asleep (punishable by death) while we were asleep we saw scardy-cat disciples come and move a large rock that did not wake us up. Then they stole a dead body. Then we lied about it for money...for the rest of our lives. Just maybe, these guys were the contemporary witnesses to the actual resurrection of Jesus. Certainly, they saw an angel and became...

There was a GRAVE ROBBER at Jesus' tomb.  Mary of Magdala tries to figure out who it was.  It is a classic case of mis-identity. She mis-identifies the dead Jesus the buried Jesus the stolen Jesus the lost Jesus the gardener Jesus (my personal favorite) She finally gets it right at the end:  Jesus Jesus.  Rabboni Teacher Jesus. The GRAVE ROBBER Himself! She gets her moment, she gets her name...

So how about if we recorded you in your last few moments of being an unbeliever?  Might that episode be fraught with misunderstanding, impaired communication, frenzied activity, and even chaos?  Might there be both physical and spiritual chaos? You don't have much warning that it will be your last few seconds.  You don't know that in just an instant EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE.  You don'...

Women, not men get the first appearances of Jesus after resurrection.  You just gotta love Jesus' sense of irony in entrusting these females with the greatest news of all time.  Jesus is very pro-women! Anyone who says otherwise hasn't read or understood the Bible.   It was a surprise.  Absolutely no one anticipates that He would rise from the dead.  They are surprised when they encounte...

When we meet Jesus in heaven, there will be holes in His hands, feet and side .  He took His body with Him.  He got a resurrected body, but it was sort of similar.  Remember, Thomas got to stick his fingers into the holes in Jesus' hands.  Here is my question, will any of us NOT want to stick our resurrected body's fingers into the holes in His hands? I didn't think so. I think Jesu...

I want a better resurrection story.   It is a story of chaos, confusion, unbelief, surprise, forgetfulness, laziness, fearfulness, etc.  In short, it is like a bunch of knuckleheads encounter the resurrection. I would NEVER write a story in this way . It would have better people, better thinking, better sequencing, less confusion, more faith, less fear, less laziness, less disrespect, and more bel...

Those who posted a guard around the dead guy were right about one thing:  Resurrection is a big deal.  Either it is true, or it is not.  They help us here by posting a guard.  They assure us that the disciples did NOT steal any dead body.  They actually give credence to the fact that Jesus really does rise. They were, as all Roman guards do, "guarding with their life." Not that the disci...

Listen for 7 minutes and learn with me about one of Jesus' earliest followers:  Joseph of Arimethea.  He's from a nearby town, he's rich, a member of the Sanhedrin council that convicted Jesus; he doesn't  consent to their decisions or actions, he is a SECRET disciple for FEAR of the Jews, and that he is looking for the kingdom of God.  Perhaps he is like you. Then at a particu...