by Charlie Wolcott
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain...
by Steve Risner
Surrender. This isn’t a word most find appealing, but I’d like to share some things concerning it with you today and next week. Recently in a prayer meeting, a man from a local church stood and prayed a prayer very similar to a prayer I’d had on my heart for some time....
by Jason DeZurik
In 1994, I was living in Seattle, Washington just under the Space Needle, pursuing my career in music and living for myself. I had been chasing after worthless things of this world hoping to become rich or famous and make something of myself. Then this Alice In Chains...
by Katie Erickson
Pleasure is a good thing, right? We all like it when things are going our way, when we get to spend time with people we enjoy doing things we like, and when we have material blessings that bring us pleasure. In our society, we often go to great lengths to not only avoid...
by Charlie Wolcott
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’”
~Matthew 23:16
This is the only one of the woes in this chapter in which Jesus did not call out the Pharisees...
by Jason DeZurik
In 1997, I was able to marry my wonderful wife. In 1998, our first child came into this world - a bouncing baby boy! We were such happy and proud parents who were thankful to God for this amazing gift. My wife and I both were already believers in Jesus Christ and had...
by Katie Erickson
Last week, we began to dig into Ecclesiastes 1, and we looked at how the Teacher tells us that everything is meaningless. He began by showing how nature is meaningless, and today we continue on and take a look at wisdom.
In today’s passage, we start out in verse 12...
by Charlie Wolcott
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
~Matthew 23:15
Right before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave his disciples a command to...
by Jason DeZurik
I have worked with students and their parents since 1995. I have heard teachers, youth pastors, and many others who have worked with students proclaim the phrase, “Parents are such a problem.” To that I would like to say, “No, they’re not.”
It has been such a blessing...
by Katie Erickson
Last week, I introduced the book of Ecclesiastes, giving some background information on the author, the themes, and the purpose of the book. Today, it’s time to dig right into the text!
As I explained last week, Ecclesiastes is written by the Teacher, who is likely...
by Charlie Wolcott
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”
~Matthew 23:14
Jesus had utter disdain for those who claimed to be following God and sought to take...
by Chad Koons
God knows your heart, right? After all, isn’t that what you gave Him?
Quick story. We used to evangelize bars and night clubs. You should try it; it’s entertaining to say the least! There were all sorts of people coming out of those places. We would see it all: the partiers,...
by Katie Erickson
I took a class during my seminary education called “Psalms and Wisdom Literature.” The professor announced toward the beginning of the class that we were going to read from Qohelet. My classmates and I looked at each other confused; how are we part of the way through...
by Charlie Wolcott
Every new year, a popular tradition is to form a resolution to start things new and make things better. Such resolutions often only last a few days to a month or two at most before reverting back to old habits. As last year began to close, I was reading through Matthew...
