The church I attend has a massive presence in the quiet residential neighborhood that surrounds it. Built in 1927, the brown brick building with the bulky Gothic Revival tower occupies almost...

We don’t believe in demons these days—they are so first-century. Nor do we place much stake in contemporary miracles. Modern science and engineering have explained away ancient puzzles and given us...

I administer a small neighborhood page on Facebook and keep up with another neighborhood email list. I’ve found that in the pseudo-privacy of the internet, many people openly express their deep...

We met the young man when he was caught rifling through men’s lockers at the local gym. My wife, Emalie, was visiting the Y when employees brought him to the front...

If we have been afraid to look in the mirror, Jesus holds it up for us regardless. The litany of sins in Mark 7:21-22 should make us shudder—not because they are...

Jesus wants to emphasize a point. It’s not just about people following tradition, rather than God’s word. It’s about knowing the human heart as the source for both good and evil....

What has the final word in how you live your life? Is it the things you’ve learned from the authority figures and traditions of your church and community, or is it...

A reasonable question we might have for James is, “What does it look like to accept the word, especially if it’s already in us?” Well, it starts with a dose of...

The book of James is often attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, who was writing to an audience of Jewish Christians probably living outside Palestine and undergoing persecution. There are...

Psalm 45 is a wedding song that ultimately celebrates a king and his bride. Like Song of Solomon, the king in question could be King Solomon, here preparing to marry the...