St. Paul is the Christian Church’s preeminent missionary. He traveled extensively throughout Asia Minor and Europe on his missionary journeys as he established congregations and set in place pastors to oversee the spiritual care of the flocks in the various cities. But,he also returned to many of the churches that...

I love you, LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. —Psalm 18:1-2The inscription for Psalm 18 notes that David wrote it after the Lord...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress my God, in whom I trust.” —Psalm 91:1-2 Basements are quite unusual in certain parts of the country, like Texas and California. But for those of us who...

“I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.” —Numbers 11:17 Moses was overwhelmed by the burden of leading God’s people. More than...

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” —Malachi 3:7 The writer to the Hebrews says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. But one could also say that we are surrounded by a great cloud of changes. While many crave consistency, we...

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet...

One of the most common questions that I hear is, “What can the congregation, district and Synod do to recruit more church workers?” Recently, I had a layperson ask me the question, but the thrust was wondering what she could do personally. I had to pause for a second and...

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” —1 Corinthians 15:3-4 It occurred to me recently that I had spent an hour...

Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth…we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel....

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 In His encounter with Zacchaeus, Jesus defines His purpose in coming to the earth. His was a mission, given to Him by His Father, to search after and find those who were lost as He had...