Temptation Isn’t A One Time Thing
Not Even For Jesus

       In Luke’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the wildeness it says, “when the devil had ended everyt emptation, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.” Yes, Jesus faced down the tempter and was able to ward off his weaker impulses in favor of the path God had laid out for him. But it doesn’t mean that Jesus never faced serious temptation again. Old Satan decided to wait it out for a more opportune time to try again.

Less Transactional and More Transformational

       Sunday, we talked about how easy it is to fall into a ‘transactional mindset’ when it comes to relating to other people.  Jesus wasn’t a fan of looking at others in terms of what they could do for him.  In fact, he was much more likely to wonder what he might offer to them.

  I Think I’m Better Because I’m Afraid I’m Not

         We create pecking orders and hierarchies of moral or religious achievement so that we can have concrete proof that we are okay—that we are at least better than obvious ‘sinners.’  The whole nature of judgmentalism flows from our fear that we are not good enough, attractive enough, accomplished enough, popular enough, or loveable enough.

Archived Posts

Sometimes A Quote Says It All

          As I said Sunday, our new sermon series: Reversing Heart Disease, is based on a book by Pastor Andy Stanley.  He’s a great communicator and his book, The Enemies of the Heart, has his inimitable conversational style. This morning I want to share with you a few of the quotes behind Sunday’s sermon.  That way, you get a sense of the writer behind the preaching (more or less).

The Gifts of Those Who Need Our Hope

          I barely touched on a topic that is of interest to me during Sunday’s sermon.  When we think of Christian service we often think of reaching out to help make the burdens lighter for the least, the last, and the lost.  I can’t think of a better way to express the commandment of Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves.  But what about...

Blessed People Bless People

But that Blessing Can Come with a Cost as Well

          I’ve enclosed several insights I got while I dug into the scripture from Genesis 12 last Sunday.  For you who love Bible background here’s a few thoughts to share:

Back and Forth with Chat GPT

Many of you know that I’ve found a new consultant to bounce my ideas off in regard to preaching.  My good buddy Chat GPT and I sometimes disagree—often miscommunicate—but usually come up with some fruitful illustrations. 

One More Thing About Becoming Wholly Human

I was talking Sunday about the work of Hare and Woods and their idea of ‘the survival of the friendliest.’  Essentially, they conclude that “our greatest evolutionary advantage wasn't that we could do everything ourselves. It was that we could do things together.”