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
In the fullness of time God came again to His people. No longer cloaked in a terrifying tornado, this time His presence dwelled in a teething toddler. His radiant glory, instead of flashes of lightning across the eastern sky, now shone from the eyes of a humble baby in a manger. … More Christmas on Mt. Mystic 5: The Cloud
I don’t know about you, but it sends a shiver down my spine to think that there was a strange moment on a mysterious mountain long ago and far far away where three heroes of history huddled up to discuss my deliverance! … More A Holy Huddle and a Game Winning Play
In today’s Mount Mystic Meditation, I want you to reflect on what it feel like to be “chosen” for something special. Can you think of a time you were selected for some special role, or reward, or experience, or trip? Likewise, how does it feel to be overlooked and watch others get chosen ahead of you? … More He Chose Them, And Us Too!
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
What a sad day it is when those called to show the world the true character and embracing love of God end up preaching bigotry, withholding grace, and turning a cold shoulder to those we’ve labeled the Other. … More Waters of Enemy-Love
Today’s episode explores the Exodus and the God of the oppressed in our ongoing series, “Spirit on the Water.” Let’s drop anchor and explore the biblical vision for “social justice.” … More Podcast: “Is the Bible Too Woke For Many Christians?”
Rather than a road map to the last days or a cryptic code to unlock, the Book of Revelation is a powerful manual for “theopolitical discipleship.” Revelation is a practical guide for how to live as faithful representatives of Jesus’ upside down kingdom in the midst of worldly systems and powers. … More Book of Revelation: Theopolitical Discipleship (5-Part Video Overview)
Deep down we know, and God knows, that we need CONCRETE examples we can see, real flesh-and-blood role models who embody Christ’s teachings and values. Elijah and Elisha invite us to explore the waters of mentorship. … More Waters of Mentorship
Another excerpt from my manuscript Spirit on the Water. This chapter explores crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land, throwing off an identity as slaves and a “scarcity mindset,” and embracing our new identity as children of God and an “abundance mindset.” … More Waters of Inheritance
We should strive to be both as politically conservative as Jesus would have us be, and as woke to the kingdom’s socio-political values as he would dare us to be. Christians need to stand firm on a ‘Make the Church Look Like Jesus Again’ platform, and God-willing be clothed with actions that embody the Red Letters of Jesus. … More Waters of Liberation
Have you considered how strange it is how many soon-to-be parents decorate their nursery with wallpaper depicting sanitized scenes from a global catastrophe that claimed countless lives? We would hardly place our baby in a Hiroshima themed nursery surrounded by images of mushroom clouds in a crib with a mobile of little gas masks going round and round to put junior to sleep. … More Waters of Wrath
The Spirit is on the water, and the waters of chaos are no match for Him. God hovers over it all with a gracious gaze and readiness to partner with us in pushing back all the crud of life on this spinning ball of organized chaos we call Earth. … More Waters of Creation
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
Like Jesus, every preacher should have a story of being pressed into a corner and seeing fire in the eyes of an offended congregant after a sermon, unless they are in the ear-tickling business. … More How A Preacher Gets Thrown Off a Cliff Then & Now
A repost from 2015. This article is also available in audio form here. I’ve heard a dozen sermons and given my own share on the story of Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha. I think they’ve all been a bit too hard on Martha and overlooked a potential danger for Mary types out there. … More Redeeming Martha: A New Spin on an Old Story
Like Jonah’s experience in the belly, the past year can be summed up as “Dark, Cramped, & Stinky.” This Good Friday let us join Jonah in the belly of the fish, to imaginatively enter into his experience and ponder his prayer from the depths. And anticipate Resurrection! … More Dark, Cramped, & Stinky (Good Friday Vigil)
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
Sometimes Jesus needs to invade our personal space, even spitting in our face and poking us in the eye, in order to get our attention and help us see more clearly. In this Sunday sermon, Jeremy explores Mark 8. … More WATCH: Holy Spit!
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
If you’re like me, this New Year’s Eve you can’t decide if you feel like singing for joy as we put 2020 in the rearview, or whether you feel like crying alone in a corner, sucking your thumb, and loading up on comfort food to numb the pain and trauma of 2020. The wisdom of the Scriptures would suggest we probably need to sing most when we mostly feel like crying. … More A New Year, A New Song
Tonight we watch the clock tick-tock until we turn, turn, turn the page to a New Year and lay to rest a difficult one! I was inspired to adapt Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 made memorable by the 60’s hippy band “The Byrds.” Here’s my remix for Kingdom disciples. … More ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ – A Kingdom Remix
This Christmas we need more than a sermon, more than words, more than a heart-warming thought that will dissipate by Christmas morning. We need the gift of Christ’s peace to fill our hearts—not a sentimental idea of peace, but a lived and deeply felt reality of Christ’s abiding presence. … More Blessed is the Prince of Peacemakers
This is the idea Jesus has in mind when he says, “Blessed are the undivided in heart or single-minded in devotion, for they will have eyes to see God when he passes by in unexpected places and wearing strange disguises. … More Blessed are the Horoscope Readers
