The Attributes of God:

Be Like Jesus Phil. 2:1-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”                   We live in a culture of self.  In our culture, it is about self-empowerment and identity.  Today, the focus is taking control of our lives and making decisions based on what we want. Authority and leadership are defined by the ability to motivate others to fulfill the leader's vision.  It is the pyramid view of leadership where the person at the bottom serves those who are at the top of the pyramid. In relationships, we demand our way and take offense when people mistreat us or violate our interests.  We hold grudges when we feel disrespected or devalued.                     In contrast to our culture, Christ points us in a different direction, for Christ exemplified an entirely different perspective.  In Philippians 2:5-11 we discover one of the most remarkable descriptions of the mystery incarnation in all scripture.  This passage has been the focus of countless article

The Forgotten Jewel of Suffering Phil. 1:27-30 “For to you, it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake.”                   No one enjoys suffering.  We try to avoid it at all costs and to alleviate it by any means.  At the first appearance of pain and discomfort, we run to the medicine cabinet to a whole array of pills, all designed not to heal us of the problem but merely to alleviate the symptoms so that we do not have to suffer.  We take aspirin and Tylenol for our headaches, Ibuprofen and Aleve for our aches and pains.  When the pills do not remove our pain, we go to the doctor to get something more substantial, even at the risk of becoming addicted to these drugs.  Today, there is an epidemic of addiction to opioids, which are prescribed to alleviate pain.  In the end, the cure becomes worse than the sickness.                   Paul had a different perspective on suffering.  He saw suffering not as an evil but as a blessing.  

The Priorities of Life Phil 1:21-16 “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”                   Paul was sitting in prison with a possible death sentence.  As Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi, he faced an uncertain future.  While he was hopeful and confident that he would be released, he had no assurance that this would happen.  Confronted with the reality of death, Paul had time to reflect upon life.                    When confronted with the reality of death, it takes us to the core meaning of life.  It confronts us with the question, “At the end of life, what really matters?”  This is no idle question.  Tragically, too few people contempt this reality.  They live for the moment and give little thought to the end of life.   Yet death is the great equalizer.  No matter who we are, no matter how great our success or how extensive our financial portfolio is, when death descends upon us, all these things are no longer necessary, for they have no value at the end of

Praying for Boldness Ephesians 6:18-20 “Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”                   The desire for acceptance and popularity is compelling.  There is something deep within us that lurks and desires to be part of the group.  No one wants to be seen as an outsider who is not accepted.  Research has shown that we will compromise what we know to be true in order not to stand alone.  This is even a danger for pastors.  It is much easier to stand before the congregation and say what they want to hear rather than preach a message we know they will not like.  We can even justify it by thinking that we need to make the gospel acceptable to people and not offensive.  So we water it down to be liked and popular.  We try to make it so that it is not offensive.  However, Paul reminds us

Imitators vs Imitation Ephesians 5:1-21 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”                   To the casual observer, an imitation is often difficult to distinguish from the real thing.  Today, it is estimated that 2 to 3 trillion dollars are spent on counterfeit products.  Research reveals that counterfeit products cost U.S. businesses over 300 billion dollars and a loss of more than 75000 jobs per year.  The difficulty is that the counterfeit and the original are almost identical to the casual observer.  However, when an expert looks at them, they can quickly distinguish the counterfeit from the genuine, for they look beyond the superficial and see the hidden differences. For example, one of the giveaways for a counterfeit Rolex is the sound of a slight tick of the second hand.  Because of the precision craftsmanship of a Rolex, the mov

Recognizing Ownership Ephesians 3:1-7 “For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles.”             When Paul wrote the letter to the church in Ephesus, he was sitting in the one place no one desired to be. He was sitting in the prison of the Roman Empire.  The Romans regulated his life and day and what they would allow him to do.  It was a place where discouragement could quickly descend upon the soul.  However, amid his circumstances, Paul changes the narrative so that the focus shifts from the Romans to God’s sovereign control of his life.             In 3:1, Paul makes a surprising statement.  Paul does not write that he was a prisoner of the Romans for the gospel's sake.  Nor does he state that he is a prisoner  for Christ Jesus, thus pointing out that he was in prison because of his association with Christ. Instead, he states that he is a prisoner  of  Christ Jesus. Paul uses the same language in his letters to Philemon (vv. 1,9) and Timo

Rewriting History Ephesians 2:1-10 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved.”                   It is easy to remain living in the past, trapped by its shame and guilt. These events have such a strong negative impact that they continue to haunt us into the present—so much so that we look at them as our defining point in life, an event that not only defines the present but becomes inescapable into the future.                     In verses 1-3, Paul describes the past lives of those in the church at Ephesus.  Instead of living a life of moral excellence, they were living by the patterns of the world.  Apart from Christ, they were spiritually dead, disobedient to God, and influenced by demonic spirits.  Like so many today, they gave free rein to their sinful passions and desires, only to be ensnared by them.  Within the Scriptures, the “fle

The Purpose of Divine Election Ephesians 1:3-14. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-14 remains a hotly debated passage.  It stands at the center of the debate on the relationship between God’s sovereignty and humanity's free will.  It has and continuously will be, one of the most deliberated issues in Biblical theology, and we will not attempt to solve the debate here.  We can affirm that the Bible teaches God’s sovereign election as the foundation for salvation and the importance and necessity of accepting the message so that this salvation might be applied to us.  How these two interrelate is a debate we will probably not solve on this side of heaven.  This is not to say that the discussion is unimportant.  It is.  While the theological debate may not solve all the issues, it is still essential because it keeps us from the error of the extreme.   However, sometime