Apr 1, 2025 | Grace, Practices
In Luke 6:1–5, Jesus and his disciples are walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath. They pluck heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat—simple, human acts of hunger and provision. But to the Pharisees, this was a violation. They deemed it “work” (beware...
Feb 22, 2024 | Grace, Practices
We learn about the grace of God from the grace we get from others, and then we hear about it in country songs. LIKE JESUS DOES I’m a long-gone Waylon song on vinyl I’m a back row sitter at a tent revival But she believes in me like she believes her Bible...
Feb 22, 2024 | Grace, Practices
I was working in my yard, and I hear this heartbreaking sound from two doors down. Loud enough and alarming enough to stop what I was doing and head that way. A towheaded three-year-old boy was standing at the top of the steps outside the door to his house. He’d...
Jan 11, 2021 | Grace, Practices
I’m a Baptist. A real Baptist. Steeped in the American tradition of a free church in a free state. Political factions aren’t to be named and aligned by religion. So it hits me hard, up close and personal, when world news shows Christianity directly, intentionally,...
Sep 1, 2020 | Grace, Practices
You may have heard of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). If not, here’s a quick tutorial. Jesus is speaking to a crowd sitting on a hillside. His iconic words there are some of the most beloved in the Bible. He instructs them with words of wisdom on how to live....
Aug 25, 2020 | Grace, Practices
Which Comes First? Grace, Mission, Hope, or Choice? You’ve heard the old quandary question, which came first, the chicken or the egg? I haven’t answered that one yet, either. So which comes first, Grace, Mission, Hope or Choice? Which one is most important? Which can...