As Peter’s letter reveals, the early church was small and characterized by deep, communal, organic spiritual growth. The first metaphor he uses is shows the members as infants craving spiritual milk....

The early church was a collection of rejects. It first appears that Peter was addressing diaspora Jews scattered across modern-day Turkey (see 1 Peter 1:1). However, many interpreters argue that his...

If the first verses of John 14 are about going, the next part is about knowing. We may miss how shocking it is that Jesus asserts that the disciples have seen...

The disciples certainly have reasons to be troubled. What starts as a celebratory meal is ruined by Jesus’ predictions of betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter. Similarly, Jesus is troubled...

When the early church witnessed Stephen’s death, they must have been struck not only by the injustice but the lost opportunity. Stephen was a persuasive and holy man who could have...

We are so accustomed to Stephen’s serene posture in death that it’s easy to forget the fiery speech that got him martyred. Stephen shocked the Sanhedrin by identifying his hearers as...

There is one thing about being a sheep that we don’t often hear in sermons: Sheep don’t live by themselves; they are part of a flock. People who actually know things...

My first memory of Psalm 23 does not come from a funeral or church service but a prayer meeting in my grandmother’s backyard. Grandma’s Saturday morning prayer meetings were a permanent...

Early in my ministry life I was asked, “What would happen if one hundred new families suddenly showed up at your church?” This seemed so far-fetched that I hadn’t given it...

I was an adult the first time I ever saw a sheep in person. I have to confess that all those paintings of Jesus and sheep radically undersold what real sheep...