The church of Christ on McDermott Road

Paul was constantly compared to others and many found Paul to be lacking. It would have been easy for Paul to participate in this preacher comparison contest. He could have easily critiqued, criticized, and condemned himself for his own shortcomings. Many of us do this very thing. However, Paul said, “It is a very small thing that I […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

When the church is what the church is supposed to be, we see others at their worst. We see  them when they are struggling and when they have failed. We are called to help them and restore them. However, seeing others struggling with sin can create a comparison problem for us. We may think that we are […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

It isn’t uncommon for us to “count our blessings” by comparing how much more material goods we have than others. We may even think this is a spiritually mature practice. We believe this creates gratitude in our hearts by comparing our relative wealth to the relative poverty of others. However, this is actually fostering materialism in our hearts […]

The world normalizes sinful behavior and shames those who does not abide by its standards. Not only is the world’s influence hard to resist, sometimes it is even hard to recognize it for what it is. Because the world’s influence is so subtle and pervasive, it is not uncommon for Christian people to be conformed, but still blindly […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

The world normalizes sinful behavior and shames those who does not abide by its standards. Not only is the world’s influence hard to resist, sometimes it is even hard to recognize it for what it is. Because the world’s influence is so subtle and pervasive, it is not uncommon for Christian people to be conformed, […]

To what degree are we personally engaged in sharing Jesus with the world? Romans 10 says the people who bring good news have “beautiful feet.” So, we all need to ask ourselves what the Lord would say about our feet. (Scripture: Romans 10:8-15)

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

James compares hearing “the word” to looking in a mirror. And just like looking in a mirror, the word can reveal our flaws. When we look in a mirror and see flaws, do we get angry? do we blame the mirror? do we just walk away and forget what we saw? or do we make the necessary […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

The Christians in Corinth were putting Paul to the test, trying to make him prove his apostolic authority. At the end of the letter, he turns the examination on them, they need to examine themselves. We all have a tendency to examine, test, and scrutinize others. And we need to be reminded to test ourselves to see if […]

The book of Revelation tells the story of Jesus’ birth in a highly symbolic way. Satan is pictured as a dragon. God’s people are pictured as a woman about to give birth to a child. The dragon waited for the woman’s child to be born so that he could devour him. However, when the Son was born, the dragon’s […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus  

Paul finally made it to Rome, after a journey that took several months. While in Rome, waiting to stand trial before Caesar, Paul was confined to a house that he paid to use. But in spite of his chains, the word of God was not bound (see 2 Timothy 2:9). The word of God continued to be preached […]

What Happened in the Old Testament and How It Leads to Jesus

It’s hard to imagine a worse situation than the one in which Paul found himself: falsely accused, unjustly imprisoned for years, tossed mercilessly at sea for weeks, shipwrecked on an island, and then bitten by a viper. However, even in the middle of such horrible circumstances, Paul was still being cared for by God. We can either get […]

After two weeks of stormy seas, Paul still remained confident and steadfast. He could do so because God had promised him that no one on board the ship would die. Because he trusted in the promises of God, not only was Paul able to stay calm, he was able to encourage others also. When we find ourselves in […]

Whether we care to admit it or not, we are engaged in a war for our souls. In this war, we face three enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Author John Mark Comer in his book, Live No Lies, suggests that the devil’s tactic “to drive the soul and society into ruin, is […]

When Paul made his defense before Herod Agrippa, he said, “I stand here on trial because of  my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers.” That hope is the resurrection of the dead and the inheritance God promised to his people. Paul’s defense not only included what happened in the past, but also what […]

When Paul was on trial before Governor Felix, he began with the defense that in Jerusalem, he was not, “disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city.” Everywhere he went, Paul protected his reputation. He strove to live an honorable life that his critics could not […]

Whether we care to admit it or not, we are engaged in a war for our souls. In this war, we face three enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Author John Mark Comer in his book, Live No Lies, suggests that the devil’s tactic “to drive the soul and society into ruin, is […]

For Paul, the Good News about Jesus was not merely an abstract theological idea, it was his lived reality. When Paul made a defense for the faith, he did by telling his story of how the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. Additionally, he not only told his story, he told it in a way that was relatable for […]

Whether we care to admit it or not, we are engaged in a war for our souls. In this war, we face three enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Author John Mark Comer in his book, Live No Lies, suggests that the devil’s tactic “to drive the soul and society into ruin, is […]