“The shattered relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the cross provides the basis for our reconciliation. No other relationship ever suffered more than what Father, Son, and Holy Spirit endured when Jesus hung on the cross and cried, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ Jesus was willing to be the rejected Son so that our families would know reconciliation. Jesus was willing to become the forsaken friend so that we could have loving friendships. Jesus was willing to be the rejected Lord so that we could live in loving submission to one another. Jesus was willing to be...

Prepositions are small words, but they carry great weight. What we often call peace with God , is really just a subjective sense in the mind that all is calm. It is a kind of peace, but is it really having peace WITH GOD? To be at peace with God demands the removal the the enmity we by default live in. Not only are we indifferent, we are at war (Romans 8:7-9), and probably in more passive-aggressive ways than even play out on human and family levels. If insanity is defined at doing the same things over and over yet expecting different results, then we are functionally insane if our thinking is...

(While on vacation this week I plan to have time to sit and think deeply on Who God is and how my tiny story fits in His great Story. Here are some reflections on the Trinity, and us as image-bearers.) First, a snippet of an old hymn: Holy Father, holy Son, Holy Spirit, three we name you, though in essence only one; undivided God, we claim you, and, adoring, bend the knee while we own the mystery. (Holy God, We Praise Your Name ; Latin text, 4th century; English translation by Clarence A. Walwort) “The Trinity isn’t a technicality but the central relationship of the Christian faith.”...

The Gospel is not only the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, it is the good news of a whole Life (here, now, and for all eternity) lived in His hands. Jesus is not only the starting point, He is the beginning, end and middle of life. There is never a second that we don’t need Jesus. Disciples need Jesus as much as sinners do. He is the only way to recapture true humanity, to become our best self, and to live for a vision beyond ourselves — giving our lives away. In Jesus we are moving from our former identity (sinners) to embracing the fullness of our new identity (disciples)....

With family and friends who live with and battle Parkinson’s disease, I’m reminded daily of the brevity of life and the plight of humankind. We all live with suffering in various forms. Former Portland Trailblazer Brian Grant — one of my favorite players from the teams of a decade ago — lives with early onset Parkinsons. He’s 37. Parkinson’s changes game plan for ex-Trail Blazer Brian Grant (The Oregonian frontpage, 5/21/09) Watch a clip of Brian Grant’s story on ESPN’s Outside the Lines SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Battling Parkinsons", url:...

My good friend Adam Poole has written (and preached) an excellent message that the church needs to hear. Adam is the Director of Cornerstone School of Ministry in Corvallis, Oregon. Below are his thoughts on knowing and living. Is there a link between doctrinal understanding and passionate devotion? It’s simple. Know God and know theological doctrines and out of that flows an ardent, fiery, zealous, passionate and loving pursuit and walk with God. Clear understanding corresponds to a burning devotion and embracing. Greater light shining in our minds leads to a greater kindling of heat in our...

(Below is the main portion of the small group questions sent out for this week’s message "Believe in Him." This section is more teaching than questions, but the link between receiving and believe is key. Is Jesus a Comcast cable technician to you? Read on and check yourself.) John 3:16 gives us a short-hand version of the Gospel. The Good News is made ours to experience and live in when we believe in Jesus. Consider these four observations about “believing in Him.” Not everyone will be saved Not everybody will benefit from what Jesus came to do. But “whoever believes in...

Last time I pointed out there may be three Gospel-distorting approaches to change (proving ourselves to God, to others, and to ourselves). We distort God’s grace when we think we can earn it, that others opinions matter more than God’s, or having a higher or lower view of ourselves than is true (Rom. 12:3). The root problem is that we see the source of our solution as in us. It’s not. It’s in Christ, who is God come to live and die in our place. When He is our motivation, and what He did becomes the basis of what we do , then life begins to make sense, and we will be transformed...

One of the community group leaders in our church asked me a Bible question last week. It was in reference to an event in Numbers 17 where Aaron’s rod budded, and related to their study on Jesus in the Old Testament. The author of a book they use in group students wrote: "The blessing of God was upon Aaron’s line, upon the priestly role in the old covenant until the Messiah came.  So central was this that some of the Jews in the centuries before Jesus speculated that there would be two Messiahs, a priestly one and a kingly one!  Jesus is the root and offspring of David but...

“The prophets searched. Angels longed to see. And the disciples didn’t understand. But Moses, the prophets, and all the Old Testament Scriptures had spoken about it — that Jesus would come, suffer, and then be glorified. God began to tell a story in the Old Testament, the ending of which the audience eagerly anticipated. But the Old Testament audience was left hanging. The plot was laid out but the climax was delayed. The unfinished story begged an ending. In Christ, God has provided the climax to the Old Testament story. Jesus did not arrive unannounced; his coming was declared in advance...