More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message! The gospel of John is so rich in material. The final seven chapters are some of the richest.  John 17 contain's Jesus' prayer for us that we would be one. That prayer more than most has shaped my life and ministry for two decades.  But in this episode, we will pause in the broader section know as "Jesus' Farewell Discourse." In other words, some con...

Send me a Text Message! One of the most heart-gripping moments in the days before Jesus' death on the cross is when He takes on the role of a servant and washes His disciples' feet.  One translation describes that as the moment where Jesus showed them the "full extent of his love." Wow! This was a defining moment in Jesus' life and His example defines our lives as well!

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we pause on one of Jesus' I-am statements.  "I am the bread of life." This podcast springs from the value that we put on the Word of God. We need more than bread for life. We need every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Now in John 6-9, we find that not only is Jesus the Word, but He is also the Bread of life that comes down from Heaven....

Send me a Text Message! In this episode, we begin the Gospel of John. John’s gospel stands alone. It's not like the other three! His gospel is more spiritual, more symbolic than the others. You might say that it is more theological. In fact, some of the richest theological conversations and teachings take place in John’s gospel. He focuses on a series of miracles or signs and a series of stat...

Send me a Text Message! So many amazing scriptures which could give us pause after today’s reading; but the one I personally needed was the story of hope in Luke 24. The story takes place after the resurrection, but before Jesus' friends truly believe in the resurrection. It's a moment when two men took a walk with Jesus on their way to the little community of Emmaus.  And it’s a deep st...

Send me a Text Message! While there are so many places we could touch down for a few moments in Luke 13-19, I want to pause today on a story that Jesus shared about prayer.  In Luke 18,  Jesus starts with the why of the story.  The why (the parable) of the story is so important that Jesus tells it upfront.  "Don't miss this," he is saying, "I'm going to tell you a story an...

Send me a Text Message! Luke 9-12 is filled with so much good stuff! The principles in chapter 12 on generosity and how to deal with anxiety are gold. If you lean into them, they could change your life. But for this reading, we will pause on Luke 10 where Jesus tells three stories; about going on a mission for Jesus, loving like Jesus and being with Jesus. Being precedes doing!

Send me a Text Message! The primary purpose of our reading through the New Testament in 40 days is to spend some time pondering Jesus, diving into the glory of the treasure of Christ. It's obvious in the gospels, but it's not only there in fact everything in the New Testament is saturated with Christ. Jesus is the "why" of the church. The heart of everything written. So as we p...

Send me a Text Message! As we dive into the gospel of Luke, we quickly discover how much Luke appreciates the role of the Spirit of God. Listen, you will hear the Spirit of God in the conversation over and over again. I love that! But in this episode's reading, we will pause for a moment at Mary's subversive song of hope, the Magnificant! 

Send me a Text Message! As we come to the end of Mark's gospel, some of these stories and teachings are sounding familiar. Let them soak and resoak into your heart, mind and soul. I have had the opportunity to visit Israel twice. They call it the fifth gospel. There is simply something about being there. One of the places that gripped me most was the spot marking Peter's betrayal. Hard t...

Send me a Text Message! As we read and listen to Mark 6-11, there are so many places where we could pause for a moment or two. We see Jesus walking on water, feeding crowds, healing and teaching. We have one of my most gut-wrenching stories, where the Rich Young Ruler walked away from Jesus because his stuff was too important. But for a few moments we'll pause and talk about the dangers of gr...

Send me a Text Message! Reading the gospel of Mark chapters 1-5 with a few comments along the way, concluding with a focus on what a follower of Jesus, a Jesus-apprentice looks like in real life. Hint, it may often require the use of the phrase, "If you say so, Jesus!"

Send me a Text Message! Matthew 25-28 finishes up the gospel of Matthew. The passion and resurrection stories are of course, powerful. The cross and the empty tomb show us the love of God and the power of God. Together they fill us with hope. But then there is this story of the love-burst of Mary, that is where I focus at the end.

Send me a Text Message! Matthew 19-24 includes a lot of difficult teachings but also some of my favorite, like "good leaders are great servants" and "my house will be a house of prayer" and "love your neighbor as you love yourself." For me to love my neighbor like I love myself I simply need to ask, "What would I love me if I were my neighbor!"

Send me a Text Message! Matthew 13-18 is filled with descriptions of how followers of Jesus live and look and love. Perhaps none of those descriptions is more powerful than Jesus' teaching on forgiveness. Jesus loves mercy. We have been forgiven much, so we can forgive others! 

Send me a Text Message! Matthew 8-12 is filled with miracles that arise from and inspire faith (believing) but we also see that believing must lead to trusting. When we trust we find ourselves called to follow a King who is worthy of our living and our dying!

Send me a Text Message! We are starting our 40-episode read through the New Testament.  The focus in this episode is Matthew 1-7 as Matthew begins to describe Jesus as the King. So much good stuff in Matthew, the birth-story and the Sermon on the Mount! Join us as we listen to the Word and learn from the word and finally lean into the Word! 

Send me a Text Message! So many urgent matters in life grab our attention. But something can't really be urgent if it's not important. If we lack the most important things for life, that becomes urgent...and our urgency soon develops into hunger. So the question is, "Are we hungry for God's Word?"