An Ordinary Faith

My wife and I love Korean tv shows. In the one we're currently watching, the protagonist is an optimistic start-up entrepreneur whose dreams are crushed by the corporate machine. She loses her boyfriend, her career, and her company. Her team is broken up and her office is empty. And yet, after marinating in the rubble for a little while, she puts her hair back into a ponytail and starts again. We have a feeling her rebirth will end in success. Devoid of characters, K-dramas (and every story) would just be scenery snapshots. Protagonists and antagonists must grow and change throughout a story if they are to move us. Samwise Gamgee would be annoying if he didn't have a spark of loyalty. Darth Vader would be one-dimensional if he didn't save his son from a cruel death. We find these characters compelling - but why? Good stories nibble, grind, and pierce into our souls. They evoke emotions within us that sometimes pierce the veil of normality. They whisper (and sometimes shout)...

Yesterday was the first major holiday my family celebrated since my mom passed away. It's fitting that it was Thanksgiving, the day we're supposed to thank the Lord for all He's done this past year. Scripture doesn't have a category for only one day of thanksgiving. Every day, every moment, we are called to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His love endures forever. And yet, it's good to have a special day set aside to be thankful.  I didn't feel like giving thanks yesterday. As we sat around our table with a feast on our plates, the empty chair across from me deepened the ache in my heart. My mom was supposed to be there. Her infectious smile, her boisterous laugh, her words of wisdom that always pointed to Jesus - all gone. I know where she is. She's not lost. Her voice has joined the chorus of saints and angels praising the Lord, but I want her back here. I want her back in our home.  My dad, brother, and I sat on the porch after the meal, our ...

Last week, my sweet mom passed away at only 55 years old. This prayer from John Flavel encapsulates what I'm feeling right now. “‘Father, what shall I do? My soul is greatly bowed down by trouble; I am full to the brim; my vain heart has looked for relief this way and that way, but none comes; every door of comfort is shut up against me. You have multiplied my sorrows, and renewed my witnesses against me; comfort is removed from my outward, and peace from my inner, man; sharp afflictions without, and bitter reflections within. O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me. Fathers of the flesh pity their distressed children, when they complain to them; and will not you, O Lord, whose compassions as far exceed creature-com-passions as the sea exceeds a drop? O my Father, pity me, support me, deliver me!' Oh how acceptable this is to God! How advantageous to the soul!” - John Flavel, “Facing Grief” May we all experience this same comfort when we pour out our hearts to the Lord. If you...

Ephesians 5:1-2: “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (The following manuscript was originally preached to my church's pastoral apprenticeship program on Feb. 24, 2023).  Introduction Everyone has someone in their life they look up to, whether it’s a parent or a favorite athlete, or a movie star. When I was younger, one of my greatest heroes was Bear Grylls. Bear Grylls was the star of the tv show, “Man vs. Wild,” and is a world-renowned British survivalist. I watched every episode of his show. I got a Bear Grylls knife, a Bear Grylls fire starter, a Bear Grylls survival kit, and even a Bear Grylls bandana. I wanted to be just like Bear Grylls. I hiked through the woods. I slept in a tent once or twice. I tried to start a fire in our backyard. I even tried to copy his cool British accent. I had the grit to survive, just like him. Or so I thought.  ...

Question: why did Jesus need to offer His life as a sacrifice if, as it seems from the Old Testament, God doesn't want sacrifices and already forgives those who are repentant and do His commands?  Response: Abraham was counted righteous first because he had faith in God and then proved it by his obedience (Genesis 15:6, Hebrews 11:17-18; see Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:14-26). In the Bible, genuine faith is always accompanied by doing God’s commands, though the works themselves are not what saves — it is God who forgives and saves. Merely repenting and doing God’s commands is worthless unless it is accompanied by faith in God (Exodus 14:31, Numbers 14:11, Deut. 9:23, 2 Chron. 20:20, Psalm 78:22-32, John 3:16-21, John 14:11, Romans 4:11,   Hebrews 11:6 — this will be important later).   The sacrificial system was meant 1. to be a way to show one’s faith in God (Genesis 4:3-4, Genesis 8:20-21, Genesis 22:13, Genesis 46:1, 2 Samuel 24:24, Psalm 51:17-19) 2. to remembe...

(This was originally posted in a Muslim/Christian discussion group chat, and is an expansion on a thought prompted by Greg Gilbert's SBTS chapel sermon, " The Servant King ." I've made some m inor edits after posting, and some sentences have been modified/added for clarity.  The two primary passages referenced are Philippians 2:3-11 and Genesis 3. "Phil" refers to the Philippians passage, and "Gen" refers to the Genesis passage.) In Philippians 2, Paul is writing to Christians (ordinary people, not the super-rich or powerful) who are being persecuted for their faith, and he has a two-fold goal: first, to encourage Christians to be humble and consider others better than themselves, and second, to teach them the truth of Jesus’s divinity.   To do this, he uses fascinating allusions/references to Gen. and goes almost line-by-line through the creation story, showing how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan.   In the Bible, Jesus is often cal...