Are There Any Good Samaritans Left?
Jesus' familiar parable of the Good Samaritan was shocking to His Jewish audience, challenging their prejudices and self-serving interpretations of God’s law. It is still today a powerful statement of what it means to love your neighbor.
Perspectives for Balancing Ministry Life
If our joy is determined by responses to our ministry efforts, we have a flawed perspective on God's work. Jesus reminds us that our joy is not dependent on our work in the world but on God's work in us and for us.
A Training Manual for Missions Trips
We are all part of the Lord's plan. And as with the seventy-two disciples Jesus sends out to proclaim His message, He offers us sound principles to follow that will give us realistic expectations and a clear focus that will help us successfully complete our mission.
The Good Shepherd
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are sheep under the care of our Good Shepherd. We can rest in the truth that He knows us, loves us, and desires and initiates a relationship with us. How could we be any more blessed? How could we be any more obligated to serve and worship Him?
Choosing to Remain Spiritually Blind
When rejected on earth, we need to remember that is the common lot of God’s children. What is important is that, by God's grace, we are accepted by Him. Jesus' healing of a blind man offers an encouraging illustration.
The Staggering Claims of Jesus
Like Jesus, we live in a world that is content to remain in the darkness of sin, ignorant of the freedom they can have in Him, the Light of the World. What are we doing to let His light shine forth brightly in this needy world?
The Woman Caught in Adultery
Those who see sinners simply as people to be condemned and used are as guilty as those they condemn. Like Jesus, we should not excuse sin, but we should act with love and compassion toward those who need His forgiveness. An incident in John 8 highlights this perspective.
Maniac or Messiah?
Who is Jesus? Is He Israel's Messiah and God in the flesh? Or is He simply a man, not God but one who taught wonderful truths and provided the greatest of all examples to follow? This is the most important question a person can answer: Who is Jesus?
Admiring Jesus or Following Jesus?
Jesus Christ is Lord. If we fail to follow Him, it is not because He has given us no reason to do so but simply because we place our own desires ahead of Him. Three would-be disciples with typical excuses demonstrate this sad truth.
Church Discipline and Reconciliation
The church cannot function effectively and in unity without dealing with sin in its midst. The church body as a whole and individual believers must be committed to confronting offenders, boldly and lovingly seeking confession and reconciliation and offering genuine forgiveness.