More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message! Our first 40+ episodes took us on a jet tour through the whole New Testament. The next 20+ episodes will take us on a deep dive into the Gospel of John. John’s gospel is a bit different from the other three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those three gospels--called the Synoptic Gospels--have a good deal of common material that they share. John’s gospel is the outlier. It&...

Send me a Text Message! This episode brings us to the end of the New Testament, and the end of that mysterious, daunting, fascinating, perplexing, confusing, intriguing, challenging, kind of scary book we all call Revelation; the book that comes with its own built-in blessing for reading it.  (Revelation 1:3) For some of you, this has felt like a race from start to finish, the whole New Testament...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we are continuing to read that mysterious, daunting, fascinating, perplexing, confusing, intriguing, challenging, kind of scary book we all call Revelation. But don’t forget it’s also a book that comes with its own built-in blessing for reading it. In Revelation 1:3. John writes, “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and h...

Send me a Text Message! In today’s episode, we start to read that mysterious, daunting, fascinating, perplexing, confusing, intriguing, kind of scary book we all call Revelation.  But it's also the only book (I think) in the Bible that comes with its own built-in blessing. In Revelation 1:3, John writes, “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses a...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we have an ambitious reading goal;  four New Testament books. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and Jude. Of course three of the books are only one chapter long, so we’ll probably be okay! Jude is written by the brother of James and Jesus. It is very similar to 2nd Peter dealing with similar instances of false teachers. It’s a call to defend the faith. It contains one...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we are diving into the two short books of one of the most famous of all of Jesus’ initial followers. Peter; once a fisherman, then a water-walker, now a follower of Christ and leader in the church. He’s probably writing from Rome, in fact, 2 Peter is probably written while in prison awaiting execution from Nero. The letter is written to Christians scattered...

Send me a Text Message! Today’s episode focuses on the book of James and before we jump in, let me say that James talks a lot about the Word. He writes in James 1:22 “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” Be doers not hearers only. That’s why we have said over and over again… when we come to scripture, we listen, we learn but it...

Send me a Text Message! The book of Hebrews is written for people with whom many of us could relate; a people who had lost a measure of their passion for Jesus, who had gotten so wrapped up in other pursuits that they had less and less time for God. They didn't have video games, social media, Netflix, or 24/7 News, but the question has been the same since time began...how will I pursue life?...

Send me a Text Message! In today's reading, you will hear some words about the Word. It’s Hebrews 4:11-13, where the author writes, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Ev...

Send me a Text Message! At Calvary, we talk quite a bit about being Jesus-apprentices. We want to be people who not only follow Jesus but live and love like Jesus. And we cannot, apprentice with Jesus without being sent on His mission. What is our mission? At its most simple, basic understanding we are called to love our neighbors and introduce them to Jesus. So you don't have to be a pastor...

Send me a Text Message! In this day's reading and video we are diving into 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to a new church filled with young believers going through a difficult season of persecution and suffering. So he's writing to encourage them and give them instruction on how to live like Jesus in the midst of hard times. He's writing to remind them of their ho...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we are hanging out in the New Testament book of Colossians, and here is what I love about Colossians. It is passionately thrilled with Christ. Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered; Jesus-loving, Son of God-exalting books in the Bible. It’s filled with variations on the theme of Jesus. Jesus is the object of our faith and the image of the invisible...

Send me a Text Message! Today's reading covers the book of Philippians, Paul's letter to the church of Philippi. Philippians as a book on extreme joy. If joy was an XGames event, this would be the manual. Extreme joy.  There are few books of the Bible that focus more on joy than Philippians.  But the fascinating truth, that gives this study an extreme edge... is that this book on joy was...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we are reading Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul started the church at Ephesus in Acts 18/19 during his second missionary journey and they experienced a mighty move of God, a city-wide awakening. Paul and the church at Ephesus literally changed the spiritual climate. During Paul’s ministry, so many people became Christ-followers, that it dis...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we are going to read Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia. Probably written around 48AD to the church that Paul started during his first missionary journey. He’s a bit critical of the church, there is a division in the church, a Jewish kind of legalism has sprung up. But his solution is to draw them back to the gospel. And that’s why it has great value fo...

Send me a Text Message! In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is talking to people whose lives have become hard and whose stories are messy. When he writes in vs 1, "Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart," we should realize that when he wrote those words, "through God's mercy we do not lose heart," he wrote them because people were losing hear...

Send me a Text Message! Gilbert Bilzekian writes, "The silent churning at the core of our being is the tormenting need to know and be known, to understand and be understood, to belong unconditionally and forever without fear of loss, betrayal or rejection." In other words, what we are seeking is love unbounded, love without walls. We want to know that we are not outside the boundaries of...

Send me a Text Message! I’ll introduce Corinthians a bit more in the next episode, but for now let me simply say, that the main message of the 1st Corinthians is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is relevant to every area of our life and the life of the church.  Can I tell you what I believe as I read the first eight chapters of I Corinthians? I believe that all over our neighborhoods, our workplace...

Send me a Text Message! It’s my hope that this podcast might be a small part of developing a hunger for more than bread, a stirring in our hearts for every word that drops from the mouth of God. It’s my prayer that letting scripture saturate our souls will cause us to be different.  Honestly, throughout the centuries those who believe that the Bible is truth, those who value the Word and surrender...

Send me a Text Message! I remember a number of years ago, I was talking to my daughters about their upcoming baptism. They were thinking deeply, asking good questions like, "How do we know that there really is a God?"  I looked at them and thought, "You are how I know." I am amazed that in our world today, intelligent, highly educated men and women can look at the intricate des...

Send me a Text Message! Today's reading completes the book of Acts, Acts 24-28. As we come to the end of the book of Acts, I just want to share a few thoughts about the life of Paul. As we continue to make our way through the New Testament, many of the books were actually letters written by Paul to the churches he started in the book of Acts. So in today's podcast, I will reflect for a f...

Send me a Text Message! Today's reading focuses a great deal on the missionary journeys and adventures of Paul. So we will pause for a few moments on some words in the midst of the reading that define Paul's passion. He wants his life to count. He wants to make a difference.  I believe that one of the most critical issues facing us today is that we don't really know what counts. We...

Send me a Text Message! The book of Acts is the unfolding story of the beginning of our movement, the beginning of the church. I know some, maybe even many believe that the best of the church is behind us, rather than yet to come.  But I believe Jesus calls us to live with a deep sense of expectancy; a hope that the best is yet to come. I believe Jesus is calling us to embrace the role of those wh...

Send me a Text Message! Today we read Acts 7-11 and we will pause at the moment of Stephen's death. I have this vision in my mind of a horrific tragedy of the brutal death of one of the hero's of our faith, a leader of the early church. And yet it is also a heart-gripping moment of grace, a moment where Stephen leaned deep into the heart of Jesus. This was a defining moment for the churc...

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we dive into the book of Acts. From the pouring of the Spirit of God in Acts 2 to the healing of a crippled man in Acts 3 to the sacrificial generosity of Acts 4 to the exploding numbers of people becoming apprentices of Jesus to the prayer meetings. Oh my goodness sometimes I think, if I could do anything, I would love to go back to one of those prayer mee...