My rooster often crows loudest on a Monday. I don’t mean to imply I deny Jesus on a weekly basis. The rooster I speak of is the inner critic, the ever-present whisper of self-doubt I try so hard to keep silent all week as I go about my pastoral work. The rooster can leave me questioning my call, my giftedness and my effectiveness as a pastor. We are wise to know what to do when the rooster comes crowing. … More Monday Morning Rooster
As long as I can remember, I’ve always been quietly breaking things—breaking customs, breaking gender roles, and, one day, breaking an alabaster jar. History remembers me sitting quietly at the Jesus of feet, but a first-century woman taking the posture of a male disciple was a loud and revolutionary act in my day. A quiet person is not always a compliant person. A gentle spirit is not necessarily a tame spirit. … More The Alabaster Jar
In this story, Mary’s action fills the entire house with a sweet smelling fragrance. And Jesus is pleased. Meanwhile, another person at the table is exuding a different aroma—a foul smell stinking up the dinner party. Jesus is not happy. Let’s begin the season of Lent by pondering the aroma our lives are giving off, and where to apply spiritual deodorant if necessary. … More A Sweet Aroma For Lent
Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” poses profound questions about humanity’s struggles such as war and oppression. Its refrain suggests that answers are elusive—perhaps nearby or forever outside our grasp. I have begun to sing this song in a more redemptive key lately. At my Bob Dylan show this week, after the last note on the harmonica faded into applause, asked if perhaps Jesus told us the answer that is blowing in the wind. … More What’s Really Blowin’ in the Wind?
The “truth” has always been a slippery thing, easily manipulated, easily spun, misplaced or lost in the couch cushions of public discourse. The atomic, bone rattling, earth-shaking radioactive Truth Bomb of the ages is that since the incarnation of the Word, all human ideas, arguments, concepts, abstractions, formulas, presentations, editorials, principles, etc. of “truth” must now stand before and buckle its knees in the presence of the Truth Incarnate. … More Truth Bomb
We walked into the travel agency and nervously picked through the brochures on the wall, each advertising exotic destinations filled with sun and ocean-scapes. We were teenagers dreaming and scheming about our senior trip that spring. After much deliberation and bargaining with our parents, me and my five best friends were preparing for a spring break cruise together in the Caribbean. … More Jesus, Travel Agent
The story of Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28 reveals a stairway connecting Heaven and Earth, with angels ascending and descending. This reminds us of God’s presence in our lives – especially in the dry seasons – bringing hope and carrying our burdens. Jesus, as the gateway to Heaven, brings the heavenly realm to Earth, uniting believers with God’s supernatural activity.
… More Angels in the Desert
The Fifth Sunday in Lent reminds us of the necessity of enduring hardships for growth and maturity, both spiritually and in all aspects of life. Just as a diamond forms under pressure, Jesus’ suffering leads to glorification. We are called to embrace present challenges for future joy, allowing God to shape us into immortal diamonds through adversity. … More Crushed Bones into Spiritual Diamonds
Remember the moment on “Little House on the Prairie” when Mary goes blind? Drawing a parallel with the story in Numbers 21 and emphasizing the importance of looking at God with the eyes of faith, Jeremy urges a deeper, all-senses kind of seeing to live faithfully. … More Blind, Now I See
The most important interpretive decision I ever made was to let Jesus be God’s definitive and final Word. He is my north star. He is my hermeneutic. Echoing C. S. Lewis, Jesus guides my reading of Scripture not only because I see Jesus in the text, but because by Jesus I have come to see everything else in a new light. … More Gold, Honey & Jesus
Whose company do you prefer? A person who keeps their opinions to themselves and has you constantly walking on eggshells, never knowing what they think or where you stand with them? Or a person who can be blunt and brash at times, but who speaks their mind in every situation? … More Guileless Faith
In John 12, Jesus is telling us that life is to be found in the dying and losing process, not on the other side of it or by avoiding it. If you want to bear much fruit spiritually, then you may first need to be broken open, split in two, pressed into hard soil, plowed over by persecution, humbled by the spade that throws loose dirt over the false, airbrushed version of your life. … More Cow Manure and Spiritual Growth
If God is the true Sculptor and we are the clay, then we need to sit still on God’s workbench more often so he can do his job. Imagine old Geppetto trying to put the finishing touches on his masterpiece Pinocchio if he were already a living boy, jumping up and down and running around the room. That’s much of American Christian spirituality. We’re working too hard for God to work on us. We’re moving too fast for God to move in us. … More Sit Still, Pinocchio!
Peter stands naked in the boat, both for practical fishing purposes and to symbolize a man laid completely bare before God-in-Christ. Instead of hiding his shameful nakedness, he wraps himself in a garment of grace, plunges himself into the waters of forgiveness, and swims into the arms of his loving friend. … More Laid Bare, Yet Lavishly Loved
Join us Sundays at 5pm as we open the Gospel of John and heed Jesus’ invitation to COME, SEEK, SEE and ABIDE like never before. … More Come, Seek, See & Abide
Let’s imagine ourselves into the story and join this strange cast of characters sitting around Jesus’ table. Which of these characters do you relate to most? … More A Table for Misfits and Ragamuffins
I wonder if we share Nicodemus’s wonder and curiosity about Jesus and the kingdom he’s bringing. Are we consumed with questions about what God is up to in Jesus? Given a private meeting with Jesus, what questions would we ask him? … More The Chosen 7: Face to Face with Jesus
We think the kingdom comes by taking responsibility, putting in the blood, sweat and tears, grabbing life (and faith) by the horns. This is life, faith, and ministry under the heavy yoke. This is the pathway to burnout, bitterness, and disillusionment with God and religion. This is doing God’s work without God’s presence and power. … More I Am Nicodemus
Keri and my oldest son, Peter, planted a garden this summer. Unfortunately, our garden is 500 feet away from our water spigot! By the time the water travels all that distance, it has lost most of its pressure. … More Water Buckets & Extension Hoses
We’ve all been bitten by the Serpent of Old, and the venom of sin in all its various forms courses through our veins. Where can we LOOK for healing? Jeremy’s message from John 3:14 and Num. 21 with scripture readings by Peter & Isaak Berg. … More WATCH: Snake Bite
Her life was forever changed the night the Living Waters came looking for her in a lonely laundromat on the wrong side of the tracks in the pouring rain at midnight. … More The Woman at the Laundromat
Jesus offers more than a small puddle of spiritual refreshment that appears momentarily but vanishes quickly in the afternoon sun. … More When the Waters Stir
We live in rigid and graceless times. “Cancel culture” is the new fundamentalism, and fire and brimstone is preached from many media outlets. … More New Fundamentalism and It’s Cure
Last night my 5-year old asked, “Daddy, if Jesus lives in Heaven, and he’s going to bring us there when we die, then why did he put us on Earth at all?” … More Our Home in God, His Home in Us
Pop culture’s films and music give you the impression that love and romance is a young person’s game; but the truth is this: Love is like wine, and gets better with time. … More Better Than Wine: A Wedding Sermon
Jeremy L. Berg 