Apprentice 2 Jesus

Church Life

  • The Patriarchs, the Maccabeans, and Us

    There has been a strange interweaving of stories in the past few days in my life. Over the past week I have studied I Maccabees in the Apocrypha and preached on Hanukkah and the Maccabean Revolt. I posted earlier on lessons learned from Mattathias and the Maccabeans. Then, I was given this link from a… Read more

  • Taking Our Stand

    This past Sunday was my attempt at preaching from the Apocrypha. I used I Maccabees as my text, re-telling the story of the Maccabean Revolt and introducing the story of Hanukkah. In the story was the lesson of Mattathias. I have become fascinated by his incredible faith and boldness. When his village was confronted with… Read more

  • To the Apocrypha We Go…

    To my knowledge, I have never preached from the Apocrypha in my ministry. (I have a bad memory, so somewhere in my distant past I may have attempted this before.) I don’t do this with any anxiety, but with a sense of excitement. We too often miss things because we don’t understand why the Apocrypha… Read more

  • Resolved

    New Year’s resolutions are tough. Yet, there are some spiritual exercises I want to increase in my life. 1. Increase in prayer. We will open the new year with a week of prayer. We will have a silent retreat in February. The Lord is challenging me in fasting and prayer. I need to call out… Read more

  • Love for the Church

    I am working through Acts 20 for the class I am teaching. As usual, I am so humbled by Paul’s incredible heart for the church. He pours out his heart to the Ephesian elders and lets them know the high price of pastoring. My question is this: In today’s church environment are we training church… Read more

  • The Twitter Gospel

    Philip Yancey will usually make me mad and glad all in one column. He does it again in his last CT column. (He says he’s taking a break.) He adds some thoughts and cautions we REALLY need to hear! (I don’t think we will, but I can only echo his strong voice.) Although I admire… Read more

  • Thoughts About “Icons”

    Recent blog activity has been caught up in a discussion over the Manhattan Declaration. This is a statement coming from Catholics, Orthodox, and Evangelicals concerning three major points about our current culture in America. The debate is over whether this is just some right wing political move or it’s legitimate. Some of the disagreement comes… Read more

  • The Healing Presence of Jesus

    The Church should be about the healing presence of Jesus. My wife told me about a dream she had, and then I was reminded of two incredible stories in Acts. In Acts 5 it was Peter walking down a street and people could be healed by Peter’s shadow touching them. In Acts 19 it was… Read more

  • Developing Thoughts

    Following up on my earlier thoughts about Acts 19, I have some other thoughts I want to put down and see if they can be developed. I would LOVE a conversation developed as well. My thoughts come from Acts 19 and then Ephesians 3:2-13. Both deal with the Ephesian church, ironically. In Ephesians 3 there… Read more

  • Quick Hit Thought to Get My Monday Going

    When Paul came into Ephesus in Acts 19, he preached, the Spirit came on those there… and 12 men started an extraordinary work. It was a work that shook the core of the Ephesian economy and impacted a region. Twelve men. God doesn’t mind small. He’s not afraid. What am I believing for today? What… Read more