Category: Digging in Deeper

A diverse group of people singing and reading from books outdoors near a church building

A Community Supporting Itself

Leave a comment

“But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching. Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered. In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:1-8 CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the church this week. I mean, more than normal. Being a pastor, I’m thinking about the church all the time, but this week has been a bit different. I’ve got some ideas rolling around in my head this morning, and I’m going to take just a minute to start to flesh some of them out here. I had thought about writing about the new Punisher special from Marvel on Disney+, but there just wasn’t much to say there. This idea, though, has been nagging at me for a couple of days now. It will probably be explored even further as my sermon for next Sunday, but this will just give you a bit of a preview of coming attractions. I’m thinking today about what makes a church strong and impactful over time. The answer is Jesus, of course, but it’s also more than that. Let me explain what I mean.

Read the rest…
Woman talking to child at trail fork with 'Temptation' and 'Reward' signs

A Choice Between two Paths

Leave a comment

“For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live securely and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.” (Proverbs 1:32-33 CSB – Read the chapter)

As a parent, it’s sometimes hard to know how to punish bad behavior in your kids. You have to figure out a consequence that is measured to the situation, but also one that will be meaningful to them. If you offer up a punishment that doesn’t register high enough on their inconvenience meter, the odds are unfortunately high that they will do it again because their desire for whatever it is you don’t want them to do is high enough they are willing to endure that particular level of inconvenience in order to do it again. This becomes all the more difficult the older they get. Sometimes, though, you don’t have to do very much because the natural consequences of their choices will be punishment enough. Rejecting wisdom is one of those things whose natural consequences can be their own punishment. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…
Mural showing a contrast between justice with a masked figure and scales, and forgiveness with two hands clasped

The Hard Way of the Gospel

Leave a comment

“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,’ says the Lord. But ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.'” (Romans 12:19-20 CSB – Read the chapter)

Everybody loves the idea of love. We love the good feelings we associate with it. We love the idea of doing good things for someone we really care about. We love having someone support us and express their concern for us. And that’s a good thing because those are good things. But real love, the love of Christ, is bigger than that. It is harder than that. Being committed to someone else’s good sometimes means doing the hard thing to help them get back on the track of that good even when they have drifted from that path. Sometimes it even means actively taking steps to stop them from doing evil. This requires commitment on the part of the one who is doing the loving; commitment to the point of sacrifice. After all, to express the ultimate love for us, Jesus sacrificed His own life on the cross so that we might live. Marvel’s most recent small screen offering, the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, puts all of this on display in a really powerful way. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…
Woman reading from a scroll to a crowd in a historic market street

Seeking Wisdom: A Call to Action

Leave a comment

“Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares. She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates: “How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge? If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.” (Proverbs 1:20-23 CSB – Read the chapter)

How does one find wisdom? Many people might answer that question by pointing to experience. If we just live long enough, eventually we’ll accumulate some wisdom as we go. If we encounter enough different situations, wisdom will be the natural result. And that sounds like it could be true except that there are old people who are still fools, and busy people who don’t seem to have learned a thing from all they’ve done. No, the truth is that wisdom doesn’t come naturally. It must be sought on purpose. Thankfully, as much as we might be seeking it – seeking her to use the personification wisdom receives in Proverbs – she is seeking us too. We just have to listen. The last big section of Proverbs 1 talks about wisdom’s efforts to call us to her. We’re going to break this down into three parts and take a look at each in turn. Let’s dive in.

Read the rest…
Woman reading a Bible while sitting in a wooden church pew

Do You Want to Be Happy?

Leave a comment

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in a culture that obsessively pursues happiness. Whatever it is that makes you happy is what you should do. That’s the message we receive. You shouldn’t have to feel bad feelings. If you do, there’s a way to make them go away. Get rid of that habit. Change your job. Sell your house. Cut off that relationship. Take this pill. Go on that vacation. In fact, not only should you never have to be unhappy, but you shouldn’t even have to be inconvenienced, uncomfortable, or bored. There’s an app for that. As a pastor who can trend a bit in the direction of cynicism, but who has spent a lot of time over a lot of years in the Scriptures, my first reaction is to roll my eyes at all of this and offer up the standard line about happiness being a fleeting emotion while joy is the deeper and richer virtue. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy is a state of being. But for just a minute this morning, let’s assume on the importance of happiness. If happiness is really what you want to experience, let’s take a look at what the data says about how to achieve that.

Read the rest…