PassageWay Church

Triage originates from the French word "trier," which means to sort or organize. French military surgeon Baron Dominique Jean Larrey, the chief surgeon in Napoleon Bonaparte's imperial guard, developed a system to evaluate and categorize wounded soldiers quickly during battle. Today, health care professionals all around the world utilize triage to prioritize patients based on the se...

Mr. Rogers was the epitome of nice. He spoke in friendly tones and wore conservative sweaters. He even changed his shoes when he came into the house. He was such a pleasant man.  Is this what it means to be a Christian? Is this what it takes to get into heaven?  As we continue on in our salvation story we read that Jesus is asked this very question by a highly respectable man, an expert in the Jew...

Were you ever that kid who rode the bench? You just wanted to get in the game. Like John Fogerty’s 1985 classic Centerfield, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play…” The lyric describes a kid with his old worn out glove, a homemade bat, and shined up spikes longing to be a contributing part of the team.  Perhaps you've felt like that at church.  Idaho pastor and author Jim Putman wrote a best se...

To be single-minded is to have only one purpose, goal, or interest. Like a young man who has fallen madly in love, she is all that he can think about. His buddies get annoyed because he used to always be down for a game of pick-up basketball. But now, he wants to spend his free time on the weekends with her. He’ll even go shopping and watch romantic movies. He picks up extra hours at work because...

Hey, senior! You have reached the pinnacle of your high school experience. You put in your time and learned to navigate the lunch room confusion, the awkwardness of which table to sit at. Maybe your books got dumped as an underclassman, but now you know your way around the hallways. Perhaps you sat on the bench all last season, but this year is your time to shine. You’re a survivor. You’re about t...

In just a few weeks college students all across the country will experience a similar sensation; syllabus shock. The syllabus contains an overall description of the course, its objectives, the materials needed, and all the assignments that will be due throughout the semester. It can be quite daunting. But, the syllabus really is a good thing. It's a professor's contract with his or her s...

Have you ever been given a task for which you felt ill equipped? Perhaps you felt this way as a first time parent, bringing that delicate little life home from the hospital. For the first 36 hours you relied on the expertise of an entire team of doctors and nurses. There was that reassuring hushed buzz in the halls of a hospital. But all of a sudden you step into the relative emptiness of your own...

There is nothing more definitive than death. As the Book of Common Prayer says, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is an inevitable part of the human condition. Death has been called the great equalizer. Regardless of ethnicity, social status, wealth, or personal accomplishments in this life, death is our common enemy. Perhaps you have had a personal brush with death. Maybe you’ve held the hand of...

Perhaps you, too, watch those home renovation shows in which the celebrity couple takes a bargain basement house and transforms it into a beautiful home. Typically, the remodel runs into some sort of a snag. They peak behind the walls or under the floors only to discover significant structural damage. It’s going to cost more money and take more time than originally thought.  And so it is in our li...

Nebraska lies in what is referred to as tornado alley. So, we’re prepared for severe weather events. We have emergency signal systems that warn of the approaching danger. But will they alert people in time? Will the warning be heeded? You build a storm shelter. But will it withstand the force of 165 mph winds? You have homeowners insurance to replace that hail damaged roof, but will the policy pay...

If you’re a parent you know the feeling of being heard but not heeded. You shout down the stairs that lunch is ready. Your middle schooler who is currently engrossed in a video game replies, “Ok!” You wait patiently, but after a few minutes there is no sign that the message was truly received. As we continue on in our salvation story, we read that Jesus was going through Galilean cities and towns...

Love is observable, expressed through actions. You’ll see this at a wedding. The bride and groom solemnly swear in the presence of God and witnesses to love one another “until death do us part.” But the intimacy enjoyed by two young lovers isn’t merely a recitation of time worn words. Their love is plainly visible in the way she gazes into his eyes or in the tender way he whispers in her ear as th...

School’s out and it’s Memorial Day weekend, marking the official start to summer. Whether you’re hanging out at the pool or in the backyard grilling some quality meats, it brings to mind the smooth sound of Lionel Richie and the Commodores’ 1977 classic “Easy.” “I’m easy, easy like Sunday mornin…” It’s actually a sad song of sorts as it tells the story of a young man who’s tired of trying to make...

Desperate times call for desperate measures. High above Bologna, Italy sits the Sanctuary of San Luca, home of a sacred 12th century statue of the Madonna, the Virgin Mother Mary. Religious pilgrims will climb nearly two and a half miles of stairs under the world’s longest portico to obtain divine favor. The especially devout will even ascend on their knees. But what of the person who’s never hear...

Nobody wants to be a hypocrite. To be called a hypocrite is universally received as an insult. The term was originally used for play actors, people pretending to be something they were not. Like a bowl of plastic fruit decorating the table, though it might look good, appearances can be deceiving. Sadly, you’ve probably met some people like that. As we continue reading in our salvation story, Jesus...

The most well known, oft quoted verse in the Bible today is surely “Judge not, lest you be judged.” It is thrown about by Christians and non Christians alike as an immediate defense against any perceived personal attack or any supposed imposition upon one’s belief or behavior. “Don’t judge me!” This quote is lifted from Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. So was Jesus suggesting th...

Moralistic, inspirational quotes abound. Some are oriented to the achievement of one’s goals. Such as: “The future depends on what you do today.” There are many others that relate to love. For example, “Love doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be true,” or “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” Maybe the most well known word art decorating countless American homes is...

We define success in predictably human ways; wealth, winning, or by something even more subjective such as personal satisfaction. “I just want to be happy.” Whatever one’s definition might be, we all have an inner sense of what success looks like versus failure, so we naturally chase after it. However, as we continue reading in our salvation story, Jesus radically redefines success for his discipl...

As Americans we are blessed to live in a free country. Yet freedom has constraints. There are governing principles handed down to us by the Founding Fathers that provide the basis for our commonly shared life. In the Bible, covenants are arrangements that govern how God interacts with His people. The books of the Old Testament describe God’s dealings with His chosen people of Israel and include mo...

The Bible contains two distinct parts, the Old Testament and the New. What is the difference between them and why is it important? Perhaps you like to eat bacon or sport a goatee. Maybe you have a tattoo. You might be hospitable and planning a wonderful meal for family and friends on Sunday after church. These behaviors and many others were addressed by more than 600 Old Testament commands regulat...

Ministry can be messy. The Pharisees were known to be of high moral character. They would have heartily agreed with the maxim, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” So Jesus’ association with the tax collector, Levi, and his unsavory friends offended their ethical sensibilities. Luke 5:27-32 contains the second of five episodes in the so called “Pharisee controversy,” which will end with them discus...

Titles confer rights and privileges not afforded to any ordinary person. A police captain might flash his badge to gain entry to a crime scene or to access otherwise classified information. An MD can prescribe medications, including controlled substances. An honorable judge enters into the courtroom and everyone stands. Her decisions are binding and authoritative. Beginning in verse 17 of chapter...

In biblical times, leprosy was a generic term for a variety of highly infectious skin diseases. For the health of the community, people afflicted with one of these skin diseases would be forced to live alone, outside of their town or village until they could prove that they were clean. In the Bible, leprosy was also a graphic illustration for the destructiveness of sin, causing shame and separatio...

Simon lived in Capernaum with his wife and family. He and his brother Andrew owned a fishing business. They were partners with the sons of Zebedee, James and John. But one day Simon and his associates had a life changing encounter with Jesus. In obedience to Jesus’ command Simon hauled in his most successful catch ever. There were so many fish the nets were breaking and the boats were sinking. But...

Authority. It’s something we all deal with on a daily basis. You may submit to the authority of your parents, teachers, law enforcement officers, building inspectors, or your boss at work. These are authorities that we commonly interact with and maybe even sometimes resist. But there are other authorities that have the power to govern or control our lives too, both in the physical and spiritual re...