Isaiah 9 expresses a great sigh of relief on the part of the beleaguered people of Judah.
Formations 11.26.2023: Mountaintop Experiences
November 19, 2023 by
The Bible never uses the exact wording of a “mountaintop experience,” but it is certainly the origin of that expression.
Formations 11.05.2023: Lavish Symbols
October 29, 2023 by
Robert Webber was a minister and academic who often led seminars for churches navigating the landmines of worship renewal.
Formations 10.22.2023: Seeing Each Other
October 15, 2023 by
How do you react when you encounter someone on the street asking for money? What if that person is a “regular.”
Formations 10.15.2023: “The Lord Indeed Is God”
October 8, 2023 by
In the fourth century, the Arian bishop Ulfilas translated the Bible into the Gothic language.
Formations 10.01.2023: Speak of the Devil
September 24, 2023 by
First Peter ends with a series of parting instructions regarding mutual love, hospitality, humility, stewardship of spiritual gifts, and accepting the authority of church elders.
Formations 09.24.2023: Your Life Speaks
September 17, 2023 by
A high school marketing program in Liberty Hill, Texas is working with local businesses for mutual benefit.
Formations 09.10.2023: Public Opinion
September 3, 2023 by
It’s amazing how much our self-perception depends on what other people say about us. People who’ve been told they don’t have what it takes to succeed often don’t.
Formations 08.20.2023: Serving Together
August 13, 2023 by
My wife and I wrote our own wedding vows. We weren’t interested in doing anything strange or cute or avant-garde.
Formations 07.23.2023: Coming Home
July 16, 2023 by
My dad spent almost his entire adult life as a high school basketball coach. While I was still a little kid, I was the team mascot.
Formations 07.09.2023: God Persists
July 2, 2023 by
“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” In other words, no matter how carefully a project is planned, accidents or misfortune can still happen.
Formations 07.02.2023: Rock Bottom
June 25, 2023 by
Rock bottom is when it is no longer possible to pretend things are better than they are, or that they won’t keep getting worse if left to themselves.
Formations 06.18.2023: Sharing What We Can
June 11, 2023 by
To the best of my recollection, there are only two Christians in the New Testaments whose deaths are explicitly mourned.
Formations 06.11.2023: Permission to Grieve
June 4, 2023 by
Everybody grieves in their own way. Among the many lessons that we can learn from John 11, let’s not neglect that one.
Formations 05.28.2023: Unexpected Joy
May 21, 2023 by
My church has a tradition that everyone wears bright colors on Pentecost Sunday. The people who know about liturgical traditions tell us that red is the preferred color for Pentecost.
Formations 05.21.2023: Be Good
May 14, 2023 by
Two thousand years of preaching and teaching have provided ample—though sometimes contradictory—guidance on what “good” looks like.
Formations 05.07.2023: The Breath of God
April 30, 2023 by
In most Old Testament passages, references to “the spirit” (Hebrew, ruach) describe a force or emanation from God, a powerful yet impersonal presence through which God works in the world.
Formations 04.30.2023: When Our Work Is Done
April 23, 2023 by
This week’s lesson shows us the church from a different angle. Revelation 7 gives us a vision of the “church triumphant,” worshiping God in heaven once their earthly work is done.
Formations 04.16.2023: Where to Begin?
April 9, 2023 by
The title of this unit is “Easter and Onward.” For the last two weeks, we’ve approached and finally arrived at “Easter.” This week we get to the “Onward.”
Formations 04.09.2023: God Isn’t Finished Yet
April 2, 2023 by
We can debate why some in the Corinthian church denied the resurrection of the dead. We can be confident, however, that no one took this stance because they had a scientific worldview.
Formations 03.26.2023: Sticking Points
March 19, 2023 by
This week’s passage tells the story of a character conventionally called “the rich, young ruler.” You might be surprised to learn that this is a designation we never actually read in Scripture.
Formations 03.19.2023: The Prodigal’s Brother
March 12, 2023 by
“Joseph,” I asked, addressing the Nigerian seminarian in the Parables of Jesus class I was teaching, “how would someone in your culture react to this parable?”
Formations 03.05.2023: Come to the Party
February 26, 2023 by
As Tony Campolo described it in the title of his 1992 book, The Kingdom of God Is a Party. Do we really grasp what that means?
Formations 02.26.2023: The Road to Jerusalem
February 19, 2023 by
This section, often called the Lukan Travel Narrative, begins in chapter 9, when Jesus first “sets his face” to go to Jerusalem for the Passover and ends when he finally arrives in chapter 18.
Formations 02.12.2023: An Imperfect King
February 5, 2023 by
In 1 Samuel, one of the first warning signs readers are given of King David’s eventual downfall is his sin with Bathsheba.
Formations 02.05.2023: Unfinished Business
January 29, 2023 by
Why do we have two different versions of Israel’s history in the Old Testament? The short answer is because humans always rewrite their history from time to time.
Formations 01.22.2023: An Unexpected Guest
January 15, 2023 by
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how unlikely it is for the centurion in Matthew 8 to have received a warm welcome in Galilee?
Formations 01.15.2023: Expectations
January 8, 2023 by
What does the incarnation mean, practically speaking? Did Jesus know about his divine origin from the start?
Formations 01.01.2023: Look Who’s Coming to Jesus
December 25, 2022 by
Traditionally, we call these magi “wise men.” The Greek text says “magi” (magoi), or “magus” in the singular.
Formations 12.11.2022: The Idolatry of the Tribe
December 4, 2022 by
According to Deuteronomy 23:3, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall come into the assembly of the LORD even to the tenth generation. None of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the LORD forever.”
Formations 12.04.2022: I Pledge Allegiance…
November 27, 2022 by
Have you ever considered what Rahab’s neighbors thought about her? I’m not talking about her profession.
Formations 11.20.2022: Giving the Sense
November 13, 2022 by
When I was a pastor in Indiana, I met a woman who had been traumatized by the Bible—or more accurately, by the way the people in her life had handled the Bible.
Formations 11.13.2022: Back in Business
November 6, 2022 by
A month after Hurricane Ian ravaged southwestern Florida, communities are getting back in business. Tamara Pigott of the Fort Myers News-Press reports that “an amazing rebound” is taking place.
Formations 10.30.2022: Rebuilding the Altar
October 23, 2022 by
I sometimes get prophetic fatigue. Don’t get me wrong. I believe it’s important for churches to have hard conversations about topics that people might prefer to avoid.
Formations 10.23.2022: I Am Strong
October 16, 2022 by
This week’s passage includes one of my “favorite” mistranslated Greek words. And by favorite, I mean I hate it, because the correct translation is actually far more comforting.
Formations 10.09.2022: From the Heart
October 2, 2022 by
Years ago, I attended a workshop on worship renewal led by Robert Webber, who was one of the top names in that field in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Formations 10.02.2022: Earning Trust
September 25, 2022 by
Whom do you trust the most? How did you get to the place that you trust this person so much? Did they sweep in and make impressive claims of faithfulness?
Formations 09.18.2022: Spiritual Worship
September 11, 2022 by
Have you ever noticed the progression in today’s passage? Paul begins with the bottom line: Christians must worship God rightly, presenting our bodies to God as a living sacrifice (v. 1).
Formations 09.11.2022: Thank You
September 4, 2022 by
Some people are good at taking a compliment. They are gracious and genuinely appreciative without a hint of arrogance.
Formations 08.28.2022: Being Right
August 21, 2022 by
I can see the upside of being among the first followers of Christ: rubbing elbows with the likes of Peter and Paul and Mary Magdalene, witnessing the miracles, and hearing the bold preaching of the apostles.
Formations 08.21.2022: Healing Relational Rifts
August 14, 2022 by
I’ve lost track of how many stories I’ve heard or read in recent years about abusive pastors and churches. Sometimes it’s misappropriation of church funds. Sometimes it’s sexual abuse. Sometimes it’s something else.
Formations 08.07.2022: Hold My Communion Wine
July 31, 2022 by
You’ve heard and seen the jokes. Someone does something outrageous, dangerous, or stupid. Then someone else says “Hold my beer.”
Formations 07.31.2022: “Thangs Happen”
July 24, 2022 by
When my daughter was in the eighth grade, my wife volunteered to be a chaperone when the school choir performed in a nearby city. At one point, she reassured the choristers about all the preparations that had gone into the trip.
Formations 07.17.2022: Sibling Rivalry
July 10, 2022 by
Cards on the table: I’m an only child. I don’t think I’m spoiled, but if you met me, you might come to a different conclusion. I hope you wouldn’t, but you can’t help but see me differently than I see me.
Formations 06.26.2022: Joining the Dance
June 19, 2022 by
When I was in college, I fulfilled my physical education requirements by taking two semesters of Couples, Folk, and Ballroom Dancing. No, it didn’t take.
Formations 06.19.2022: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
June 12, 2022 by
“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” As a pastor, I said those words every time I baptized a new member of the Body of Christ.
Formations 06.05.2022: Low-key Jesus People
May 29, 2022 by
I’m an introvert. I married an introvert, and we had an introverted child. Said child is serving this summer as a children and youth intern at our church.
Formations 05.29.2022: Lavish Liturgy
May 22, 2022 by
Think about how John describes worship in Revelation 4–5. The worshipers wear special clothing. They play musical instruments. They burn incense, symbolic of the prayers of the saints.