Early Church of Christ

Judas had blown it. Big time. No doubt. But did his story have to end the way it did, or is it possible that God's grace really is, as the old hymn says, "a grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt"?

"For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible...

This week we returned to the scene of Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. But this time, we looked at the other people involved--Jesus' disciples, the townspeople, etc.--because there is more going on in this pivotal conversation than first meets the eye.

"There is only one way to find out what God is like and what his purposes are for the world, and that is to commit yourself to the Son of Man, whose lifting up on the cross is to be the true sign of God’s loving design. Nicodemus cannot go home pretending to be baffled by what Jesus has said. He has to decide." Williams, J. (2004). Lectionary Reflections: Year A (p. 47). London: SPCK.

The devil can be very cunning, but as we see in his encounter with Jesus in the desert, his abilities and illusions can be shattered in the presence of truth and a faithful heart.

So many things pull at us for our attention, energy, and resources. What really matters? What will really be fulfilling? What leads to peace?

Does the world really need more anger? Bitterness? Division? No. But can you imagine the impact of a Christian community that hears Jesus' call to love, unity, and humble hearts? "'You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." Ma...

There are two key passages that can really begin to reshape our worldview when it comes to how God sees people, and how we see people (and ourselves): I Samuel 16:7, "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

What does it really mean to be "blessed"? What does it really mean to be happy? How do find blessing in the midst of hardship? The Lord knows...

Two men—outcasts, others, refugees of a sort—sat in prison cell. What had they done? They'd helped the wrong person, practiced the wrong religion, and come from the wrong ethnicity. It would seem not much has changed the last 2,000 years. Or has it? What we can learn from the prison experience of Paul and Silas has informed the walks of Christians and changed not only their outlook, but their iden...

Starting with Jesus' parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18, we look at what it is about our God-defined identity gives us courage, hope, and tenacity when the world throws us marginalization, hurt, and injustice.

"For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10, New Living Translation

"We don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relat...

Elijah faced 450 prophets of the Baal religion on Mt. Carmel. It was an intersection of faith, humility, courage and conviction, and it speaks to us as we stand at the beginning of new year.

Joseph liked a good plan. Measure twice, cut once. And then his betrothed showed up pregnant--a shock to him! Then she said it was the Spirit of God. You can imagine how you'd react. So God sent a messenger in a dream one night to let Joseph know Mary was telling the truth, God was in control, and there really was a plan...

As the twilight of John's earthly life hovered on the horizon, he couldn't help but ask some serious questions about the purpose his life had served. And when he sent messengers to Jesus to see if he was really the Messiah, his doubts were washed away. #DoYouSeeWhatISee? #GoTellJohn

John the Baptist was an unusual guy. Camel hair clothes and a locust diet will do that to you. So what drew people to him? What was it that would draw crowds from all over the country to listen to such a guy? #hope #turningtowardGod #Jesusiscoming

The Christmas season is a great reminder that the Christian hope is one of watching and waiting with great anticipation for second coming of the Lord. It reminds us that God kept his promise to send a Messiah, and he'll keep it again! #keepwatching

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" --Jesus, Revelation 3:15, NIV

When the pressure is on and you feel like a small boat in a big, stormy sea, Jesus wants you to know that you're not alone, that he he sees your faithfulness, and that victory is in his hands.

“Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there’s life in you yet. But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God’s work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God." ~Revelation 3:2-3 Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary langua...

This time Jesus sent a message to a church that had a lot going for it, and was improving day by day. But there was a false prophet about derail their progress, and Jesus reminds them (and us) of the importance that our love and faith be led by truth and holiness.

The Christians at Pergamum had stood the test of faith--for some even to the point of martyrdom. But with long battles comes fatigue, and it's easy start making compromises of conscience in the face of constant opposition, so Jesus gives them a word of encouragement to help them remain true to the end.

We had a very encouraging report from Monte Tuttle on the work God is doing through Eastern European Missions. From Bibles in the former Eastern Bloc schools to Bibles for refugees from the Muslim world, God is on the move.

When the church at Smyrna saw themselves, they saw poverty, persecution, and testing. Jesus helped them to see that they were blessed, victorious, and possessed a very hopeful future. #donotfear #Jesuswins