As we’ve been seeing in 1 Peter, suffering is part of life. It’s a component of living in a world that is fallen and sinful. Everyone suffers, whether that suffering is financial or relational or physical, with chronic pain or disease. There is no way to avoid suffering. Many people seek to avoid suffering and…

I am a teacher. I love to teach. I love to explain things in ways others can readily understand, and I don’t mean they simply grasp facts and figures. I love seeing the light bulb come on for people when they begin to make the connections. It is a profound privilege to be a part…

Throughout Scripture ashes are associated with mourning and lament and repentance. At the end of the book of Job, after God has made it clear to Job that his ways are higher than Job’s, that Job cannot comprehend the barest fraction of what God is doing, Job said to the Lord, I had heard of…

Each Christmas we’re reminded of the question: “What Child is this?” We share gifts and meals. We see family members we haven’t seen in a while. We say “Merry Christmas” to strangers as we rush to beat them into the line at the store. We feel warm and fuzzy. Christmas is about asking the question,…

The earliest Christians lived with a profound sense the Lord could return any day. In the early years of the church after the apostles, this expectation resulted in a weekly cycle of worshiping on the Lord’s Day—Sunday. Life was oriented around this experience of the gathered assembly. The church also met at other times and…