If ministry involves serving others with love and compassion, you would think that people would respond only with glee and gratitude for the help they received. Sometimes, but not always. If you offer to help a family member who is having trouble paying his bills, he might be offended, wondering if you are implying that he is not a good provider. L…

Most people fear death to some degree. Some fear death because they assume it is the end. Others fear death because they assume it isn’t the end at all, but that there is some sort of reckoning after death which might not go well for them. And have you seen what happens to a dead body? It is far from pretty. So, it is understandable that most peopl…

As another chapter in the life of our King of Kings family comes to a close today, we find encouragement, comfort, and even joy in Christ, as he calls us to go and carry out the gospel work he has entrusted to his Church. This is our God-given task, our labor in the Lord. Yet such mission and ministry work can be difficult, tedious, even frustratin…

What does life in the family of God look like? What did Jesus intend for us while we live with one another as blood-bought brothers and sisters in Christ? On the night he was betrayed, Jesus commanded his disciples to “Love one another.” (John 13:34-35) What does that mean? Why love one another? What does that look like? Loving one another in the f…

Are you ready for what’s coming? The forces of darkness are arraying against us—the devil, the sinful world, even our own sinful natures within us, and their goal is to win the war for our souls. There is no compromise, no peace treaty, no negotiations with these enemies arrayed against us—only an expectation of unconditional surrender and enslavem…

No Christian teaching demonstrates that we have a top-down faith more than the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Scripture teaches that there is only one God. Yet that God exists as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Incomprehensible! It is the type of teaching about which the psalmist declares, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for m…

Jesus told his disciples that, though he was going to ascend into heaven, he wasn’t going to leave them alone. He was going to send “the Advocate,” a title for the Holy Spirit. But Jesus wasn’t sending the Spirit just to keep us company. Jesus would have the Advocate give us spiritual power so that we might participate in Christ’s saving work. Here…

The entirety of God’s Word can be summed up in one word: love. God’s Law is all about love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39). The gospel is all about love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16). From his compassion for the sick and broken, to …

Generally, our actions are shaped by our beliefs. People who eat low-carb diets do so, probably not because they hate pasta, but because they believe it healthiest. If a man buys stock in a company, it probably is because he believes in their business plan. Our beliefs shape our behavior. This is true of Christians’ belief in the resurrection. We b…

Scripture frequently pictures spiritual care in terms of a shepherd watching over sheep. Even folks unfamiliar with shepherding are able to grasp the meaning. Sheep are helpless animals—an easy meal for predators. For sheep to survive they needed a shepherd who not only leads them to sources of food, but who also is willing to tangle with a pack of…