Pastor's Corner

A Common Journey(Matthew 1:18-25) I have always felt a little bad for Joseph. Among all the cast members in the Christmas Story he tends to be easily forgotten. We zoom in on Mary, the shepherds, the Magi, and the host of angels. But Joseph? He easily gets lost in the shuffle. But his predicament was quite serious. His fiance Mary was with child, supposedly of the Holy S...

An Advent Devotional on Isaiah 9:1-7. The kingdom of Judah was religious on the outside but rebellious on the inside. God's people offered the prescribed sacrifices and prayed the appropriate prayers, but they were just going through the motions. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, the people walked in darkness (2) and judgment was ahead. The Babylonians would come, ransa...

An Advent Devotional on Psalm 2. How will future commentators and historians look back on 2020? What words will they use to describe this most unusual year? I doubt the word "humbling" will appear on their list, but it should. We can put a motor vehicle on Mars and unravel the mysteries of DNA. But one virus appears, and it effectively shuts down our entire world! I call ...

An Advent Devotional on 2 Samuel 7:8-16. One day David decided to build a house for the Lord. He felt it was not right that he lived in a lavish palace while the Lord dwelled in a tent. God said no. David had too much blood on his hands (1 Chron. 22:18). Instead, the temple would be built by his son, Solomon. But God did have some good news for David. The Lord would make ...

An Advent Devotional on Genesis 49:8-12. In Genesis 49 the patriarch Jacob is on his death bed while he addresses each of his twelve sons. He looks back on their past deeds and prophesies about what will happen to them and their descendants in the future. Judah, Leah's fourth son, is commended for his leadership. Jacob even predicts that Judah will be held in high esteem ...

An Advent Devotional on Genesis 3. After Adam and Eve's catastrophic fall in Eden, God pronounced judgement on the serpent (14,15). This serpent is clearly not an ordinarily snake because it talked and deceived. It was the devil, Satan himself, the father of lies (Rev. 12:9; Joh. 8:44). God prophesied that from that moment on there would be warfare between Satan and the w...

Over the years, I have sought God's guidance in different fork in the road moments. In a few cases this has led to huge life changes. I believe that on occasion God directed me to a specific decision through a particular text in the Bible. This may sound puzzling to you, because we all know that the particulars of my life are not found on the pages of the Bible. It may als...

"What's in a name?" Shakespeare exclaimed. Well, a lot actually. That's why you and I raise our eyebrows when we find out that parents named their child Hashtag, Phelony, Ikea, Adorabell or Shady. Do they have any idea what they've just done to their son or daughter? We feel bad for these kids because we know your name is a big deal. Names are a big deal in the Bible too....

Jesus said: "Man must not live on bread alone, but on every word, that comes from the mouth of God" (Mat. 4:4). If we don't eat food, our bodies become weak and sickly. It works the same way in the spiritual realm. But digesting the Bible doesn't only make us strong, we also need it to fight temptation successfully (Ps. 119:105) and to be wise (Ps. 19:7-11). God hasn't tol...

If there is one Bible verse that Christian parents know by heart it is Colossians 3:20, "Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord".This is God's instruction on the authority-structure in the home and a key component of the parent's job description. But do we know what comes next? "Fathers do not provoke your children" (Col. 3:21). God issues pare...