When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, he had never been there. He knew some of them by name. The house churches in Rome mixed Jews and Gentiles, people raised to keep their distance from each other. Now they were sharing bread at the same table. So when Paul turned to how they should…
Little Girl, Get Up
Jairus was there the whole time. On Wednesday we watched Jesus stop in the road for a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. While He stopped, a father was standing in that same crowd. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue. A respected man. He had reached Jesus first, fallen at His feet,…
A Tale of Two Churches: And They Were the Same Church
The summer our church doubled, a biker group sat in the front rows in leather and helmets. A few years and one beautiful building later, they were gone. This is the story of how one church became two, and the grace that meets both.
The Last Time He Said It
It was late. Judas was gone. Peter had just been told he would deny his Lord before the rooster crowed. And Jesus was nearly finished teaching the men He was about to leave. He had already told them to love one another four times that night. Three times at the table (John 13:34–35). Once more…
Freely
All week we’ve watched Jesus receive people. A leper who came back to say thank you. A woman who had bled for twelve years and heard Him call her “Daughter.” Today Paul tells us why He could. He starts with two words we saw in Ephesians: “But now.” Romans had just spent nearly three chapters…
My Commandment
At the end of John 14, Jesus says, “Arise, let us go from here.” Many think the next words were spoken on the walk out of the city that night, toward the Mount of Olives. If so, they passed vineyards along the way. And Jesus began to talk about vines. “I am the vine, you…
Daughter
Twelve years. That’s how long she had been bleeding. Mark tells us she had suffered under many doctors and spent everything she had, and instead of getting better, she grew worse (Mark 5:26). But the bleeding wasn’t the only wound. Under the law, a woman with that condition was unclean, and anyone she touched became…
By This All Will Know
Jesus had just given the command. Love one another, as I have loved you. Then, before anyone could ask why, He told them: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) By this. Not by our doctrine, though doctrine matters. Not by our worship…
One Came Back
Ten men stood at a distance and shouted. That’s how lepers had to do it. Close enough to be heard, far enough to stay out of the way. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He didn’t touch them this time. He just told them to go show themselves to the priests. And somewhere on that…
Ephesians 2:1-18: “But God” and “But Now”
Ephesians 2 turns on two hinges. “But God” answers our death. “But now” answers our distance. A walk through the Greek.