Apr
1
Easter Implications
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The resurrection of Jesus was the lynch pin of the Gospel, giving the early church something to talk about. But it didn’t stop there. We too are commissioned to take the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and the liberating message of forgiveness to a world that so desperately needs it. We go not in our own strength, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture Passage from John 20:19-31.
Jan
9
Sharing Christ Incarnationally
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Does the thought of sharing your faith with someone make you feel petrified with fear? What if someone asks you a question you can’t answer? What if befriending a person whose life is “a mess” ends up dragging you down? 
Rebecca Manley Pippert wrote a book on evangelism years ago entitled, “Out of the Saltshaker and into the World.” She still travels around the globe conducting “Salt Shaker evangelism training conferences” and has found that everywhere she goes Christians feel inadequate when it comes to sharing their faith in Christ with others. In order to overcome our fear and sense of inadequacy in sharing our faith, Pippert says we should “look at the incarnation of Christ.”
We’ve just come through the Christmas season in which we’ve celebrated Christ’s incarnation, the fact that “the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). God came down to us from His lofty throne in heaven in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, and humbly took on the form of a servant. Becoming a man, Christ loved humanity, leaving us an example of how to relate to others.
Pippert says, “God doesn’t require perfection to be able to use us. In fact, His power is glorified through our weakness.” We don’t need to come across high and mighty, or have pat answers to every question. In fact, it’s a turn off to others if we do. Many are attributing Hillary Clinton’s recent comeback in the New Hampshire Primary Election to the fact that she expressed a moment of emotional vulnerability to a voter who simply asked her how she was doing. People want to see the reality of the struggle more than a polished pat answer. Read more
Nov
8
The Unpardonable Sin
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As a pastor I’ve been asked the question with some regularity, usually by a young person, “Is there a sin that can’t be forgiven?” In fact, the question was posed to me recently by one of our youth at CoJ. The question is most often provoked by a study of either Mark 3:28-29, where Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin;” or Matthew 12:31-32, which similarly says - “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
In my experience, youth seem particularly vulnerable to the thought that there likely is a particular sin that is so heinous that God just can’t or won’t forgive it, and moreover, that it’s quite possible he or she (or a close friend) has already committed it.
First of all, to this I say that the Scripture passages cited above have a particular context in mind - Jesus’ exchange with the Pharisees, 
a sect of the Jews of His day, who strictly adhered to the Law of Moses and were proud of their ability to do so. The Pharisees had made the assertion that Jesus’ popularity and miraculous works were the result of Satan’s influence in His life. Jesus called this, “the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” or attributing the work of God to the devil, a serious offense with the gravest possible consequences, according to Jesus. Yet, as we search the Scripture, there are numerous forms of serious sins committed by a wide assortment of people that God seems willing and able to forgive. Why does Jesus single out this sin? What is meant by “the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” which Jesus asserts is “unforgivable?” Read more
