Apprentice 2 Jesus

Spiritual Formation

  • The Search for “Home”

    I met with a former student today and we caught up on life. Over the years I have gained a deep appreciation for all the streams of Christianity that have come through the centuries, so when I see people exploring streams other than the one they grew up in,  I’m interested. He has reached a… Read more

  • New Year… New Opportunities

    I enter this year with hope, as always. I enter this year with plans, as always. Then, I look back on a year and realize… well… not many things may have ended up happening as planned. Consistency and intentionality are always key. This month begins a journey. The Lord has been challenging me on prayer… Read more

  • Time Wasters

    I had finished my message for Sunday morning when I ran across this great column by Mark Galli. I wish I had come across it before writing my message. I could have printed this off and just read it! My text for the day is Luke 2:22-40, the story of Simeon and Anna. Here are… Read more

  • Are We a Burden?

    Announcing my weak attempt to preach from the Apocrypha elicited some wonderful responses. One text sent was a prophetic/Messianic text from the Wisdom of Solomon. It understand it can be taken as Messianic, but the passage (Wisdom 2:12-20) begins with, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man…” It is a passage speaking of… Read more

  • A Question for Old Testament Studies

    Next semester I am teaching a freshman college course on Old Testament. It’s a survey class. One of the exercises I am toying with is having passages of Scripture to memorize. If you had about six passages to assign, what Old Testament passages would you assign… and why? Let me hear from you! Especially T.C.,… Read more

  • Learning Christ

    Eph. 4:20 — “That is not the way you learned Christ.” There IS a way to learn Christ. We are taught in him. As I am reflecting over this passage for a class I am teaching, I am reminded of many people who taught me in Christ. Some were personal. Others through books and other… Read more

  • The Need for Spiritual Reading

    There is a great line from the movie “Shadowlands.” The C.S. Lewis character, played by Anthony Hopkins, says, “We read to know we’re not alone.” He picked that up from a former student and let it teach him something valuable later in life. A challenge I have in my own life is reading great books.… Read more

  • Christ Exalted in My What?

    “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death.” (Phil. 1:20, TNIV. Italics added.) This isn’t about sickness in the body. This is about our lives being “all in,”… Read more

  • Fruit

    Paul talked about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. In Philippians 1 he is discussing being with Christ or staying in his body to be with them. He notes that being with them is fruitful labor. He lived his life with meaning. It’s a powerful statement. A comment I read from George Wood in… Read more

  • The Systems Are in Place…

    Over the past few months I have been preaching on the Holy Spirit. One of the key areas of Spirit-filled life I’ve examined is Acts 2:42. The Early Church had a “system” to catch what the Spirit was doing in their lives. 1. The apostles’ teaching 2. Fellowship 3. The breaking of bread (which I… Read more