Life on the West Side

Don't you love a good story? There is a story to end all stories. One of a knight, a dragon, and a damsel in distress. This is the tale of the Dragon Slayer. The sermon today is titled "The Grand Story." It is the final installment in our " Christmas Presence " Series. The Scripture reading is from Matthew 1:23 and Revelation 12:1-11 . Originally preached at the West Side...

In our world we see light and we see darkness. Without God’s presence, this world is a cold, dark, scary place, unsafe and unfit for image-bearers of God. But with God’s ever abiding presence, says Dallas Willard, “this present world is a perfectly safe place for us to be.” He won’t forget you. He won’t abandon you. And Matthew’s genealogy gives us several reasons to hope that God is with us in th...

Presence . It's the thing we remember years after the funeral. It's the thing we hope for when we receive the worst call of our life. Technology has given us some incredible things. You can now Facetime with Grandma and send mail electronically that will get to its destination in a matter of milliseconds rather than days. But no matter what devices we employ, or commodity we consume, som...

For 3 years, I served as President of my Alma Mater Mars Hill Bible School--a Christian academy in Florence, Alabama, with roots stretching back over 150 years. The founder, T. B. Larimore, was a beloved minister with a unique talent for rising above issues that were dividing the American Restoration Movement in the late 19th century, seeking to root his Christian identity and plead for Christian...

For 3 years, I served as President of my Alma Mater Mars Hill Bible School--a Christian academy in Florence, Alabama, with roots stretching back over 150 years. The founder, T. B. Larimore, was a beloved minister with a unique talent for rising above issues that were dividing the American Restoration Movement in the late 19th century, seeking to root his Christian identity and plead for Christian...

For 3 years, I served as President of my Alma Mater Mars Hill Bible School--a Christian academy in Florence, Alabama, with roots stretching back over 150 years. The founder, T. B. Larimore, was a beloved minister with a unique talent for rising above issues that were dividing the American Restoration Movement in the late 19th century, seeking to root his Christian identity and plead for Christian...

We are maxed-out on credit cards, increasing our anxiety meds, and headed to marriage counseling because of money stress. All while making more money than most people in the world. And we don’t think we have a problem. In the words of Tim Keller, money blindness leads to money sickness.  But giving offers a blessing. The lecture today is titled "God and Money." The key passage is Luke 12...

It is easy to forget to show an attitude of gratitude. 9 of 10 healed lepers did. But Paul challenges the church in Philippi to focus on the positive, to push beyond distractions, and to find joy in all situations. The healed leper who returns to Jesus in Luke's gospel reminds us that a willingness to say thank you starts with a recognition of who we are without Christ, and what a difference...

What am I looking for when reading the Bible? Daily Bible reading schedules go off the rails. What is the value in reading Leviticus? How do I know what to look for in Isaiah? What are the most important questions to be asking when I read 2 Corinthians?  In this lesson, I argue that all of the Bible points to Jesus Christ. Find joy and passion in reading every text of Scripture through this lens:...

Spiritual neurotics, find comfort in your Savior . Hear the sweet voice of Jesus say "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Hear the words of the apostle whom Jesus loved as he writes "so that you may know that you have eternal life." Rest assured that not only in the space between prayers of confession, but at every moment of your walk as a struggling, imperfect, but trust...

The New Testament doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on the “empty tomb.” In fact, that only led to fear and panic. The fact that Jesus rose bodily from the dead–leaving behind an empty tomb–is true and crucial for the Christian story. Indeed, it is necessary for any true encounter with a risen Lord. But it wasn’t the empty tomb that produced hope in the heart of believers; it was their encounter with...

Christians believe in resurrection . The cross is certainly part of the great news from heaven to all of creation; but what makes it good news is that death is not the end of the story. The resurrection forms the center of the gospel of God. Christ came that we might have life, because he himself is the resurrection and the life. Christians proclaim that the Spirit is the giver of Life. And nothin...

How can Paul claim to “boast in the cross”? How can Christians sing “in the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever?” To have the power over death and allow yourself to die is anything but glorious; its an act of insanity to himself and treachery to his followers (who left everything to join him in this crusade). He must be mad, or delusional…or he must know something we don’t know. It’s for the sam...

Doubt is something virtually all of us experience, but we don’t always know what to do with it . Our churches don’t always know what to do with it.  I’m shocked and struck with awe at how many people in the Bible expressed their doubt.  Try this exercise. Find a single major argument against God that you’ve heard an atheist use that isn’t already included in the Bible itself. “Life seems meaningle...

Proof is the wrong word. We don’t “prove” there is beauty in the artwork or that our spouse is in love with us. But we know it—and it is true and very real.  Is it reasonable to believe in God and in the Christian story?  We interpret facts on the ground through the lens we have already chosen. Detective work doesn’t start with what evidence we want to have in front of us, but what we actually hav...

We all have a hole in our soul . And we look around at the universe for something to fill it. Youthfulness doesn’t last, money doesn’t heal all wounds, and every technological advancement only makes the problem worse.  For some, even religion hasn’t given them the satisfaction they seek. As every day goes by, and we march closer and closer to death, our soul cries out, “is that all there is?” What...

We all have doubts and uncertainties; but is the whole idea of faith simply not credible? Questions and doubts are not opposite faith…they are part of a life of faith. But questions and doubts can either drive us to or drive us away from exploring the Christian story. Some questions often asked about religion, faith, or Christianity are rooted in misunderstanding or faulty assumptions. "Negat...

The Bible says we will be glorified . In the middle of Romans 8, Paul reminds us that God is in the process or restoring, reframing, and redeeming. He says that our bodies will be raised...then changed. Not only that, the creation will be set free from its bondage to decay. The imagery tells us that God wins, there is freedom that extends as far as the curse is found, and God intends to make even...

I want to talk about "living water" and Jesus' miracle in Cana . We already know from John 4 and John 7 that stories about water that “come alive” are stories about the Spirit. Look at five things we see in the story of water turned to wine in John 2. Abundance. Fullness. The Good the Best. A Power that Changes and Overwhelms. This is how we are supposed to think about what God prov...

Being holy means being like God . God does far more than “avoiding bad actions.” He also doesn’t want to do bad actions. That is, he doesn’t just say “no” to bad desires. Even his desires are pure. So holiness must also include purified desires. So much so that we can learn to “do as we please” once “what we please” is simply to please Him. Yes, it means set apart from evil actions. Yes, it means...

The Spirit is implanted within us, yet we are called to "receive" the Spirit. Having God's Spirit is a wonderful truth! But what if we resist the Spirit? What if we choose not to yield ourselves to the Spirit's will? The Spirit wishes to work within us, to accomplish God's will in changing us and using us. Our calling is to accept God's lead and to stop resisting the...

Jesus promised to plunge his people in the Spirit. And Paul said the Spirit now lives in every believer. What if we believed that every Christian has been totally immersed, totally plunged into the living, active, powerful, Holy Spirit of God? With access to his presence, power, and the fruit of God’s kingdom He produces? That would change a person, wouldn’t it? The sermon today is titled "Pr...

Your Life Can Be Different. When the Lord comes back, we will be changed. I believe that, and you do too. But standing there in the shadow of her brother’s grave, Martha needed to hear of a more immediate hope. In their short exchange, Jesus assures Martha that “even now” change can happen. Because she is not just standing in the valley of the shadow of death; she is standing in the shadow of Jesu...

The Upper Room prefigures the story of the cross. Jesus, the sacrificial servant, who strips down and offers his body and blood to a man who will deny him and another who will betray him. And he calls us to see him as our Lord. What love. It was St. Athanasius who said the cross was the only form of death he knew where you did with arms outstretched. See the cross as the story of a God who looks a...

Deep down, we want a God who is Holy. If God believes in goodness, kindness, generosity, and peace, then he must hate evil, stinginess, mean-spiritedness, oppression, and animosity. You can’t be for something without being against its opposite. A God who could care less about sin, evil, and corruption is no God at all—powerless against darkness—and can never be trusted to mold us into people after...