Welcome!

For 5 years I was the pastor of Trinity International Church in Strasbourg, France. I created this blog with those people in mind. In mid-November 2018 I will become the Senior Pastor of Word of Life Church in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. The focus of this blog will therefore shift, but I pray that people from the blogosphere will continue to find it helpful wherever they might be found.
The churches' websites includes recorded sermons for those who are interested. Click the links below to access them.

Friday, December 29, 2017

A Great Bible Study Tool

Which is more realistic? A painting...
One of the greatest challenges in studying the Bible is seeing what is actually there. So often we take a quick look and think that we know what the text says. But to see what the text actually says requires careful and diligent study.

We know this from other areas of life. When we look at a picture we get a general idea of what the picture is about but if we take time and examine things closely we will see more and more details.

One of the best study tools that I have found is the website  Biblearc.com. It is not, like many bible study sites, an aggregation of links to other commentaries or sermons. Instead, it provides tools for a person that wants to dig deeper by actually observing what is in the text.

The name of the site, Biblearc, comes from one of its main features: Bible arcing. Bible arcing is a way to see the logical relationships in a passage. It forces you to think deeply about what the author is saying. By breaking the passage into statements, and then determining how each statement relates the others you gain valuable insights. While it takes a little work to learn how to use this tool, the rewards are well worth the effort. You will see things that you never saw before and grow in confidence that you know what the writer meant.

Here is an example of a simple passage that has been arced.


The benefit of arcing accrues to the person who actually does the arcing, rather than someone who simply looks at an arc. Remember: arcing is a way of looking and actually seeing what is there.

The site also has tool called phrasing which allows you to see the flow and the main points of a passage. This, plus an amazing diagramming function, word search capabilities, and multiple translations give you everything you need to study the passage itself for yourself.


...or a photograph? (Both of Arles, France)

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Top Books I've Read in 2017


I read a lot. Don't tell my wife, but there are over 500 books on my Kindle! I've always got a bunch of books going. Some books are so good (Tozer's Pursuit of God) that I read them almost every year. Others I re-read less frequently. Still other "books" are collections like The Complete Mark Twain (which I have finished) or the Life and Works of John Owen (55 excellent volumes that I may never finish).

None of these were considered for my Top Books List.

To make the list I needed to both start and finish them in 2017. Here are my six favorites:

D.A. Carson - Praying with Paul. Carson is a solid biblical scholar but this book reveals that he is much more than that: he is a man of prayer. This look at Paul's prayer will inspire and instruct your prayer life.

John Piper - Reading the Bible Supernaturally. This book is one of the best books I have read on the Bible and the supernatural thing that occurs as we read it. Challenging and informative.

Tom Doyle - Killing Christians. A sobering and faith-deepening look at what is happening in places where being a follower of Jesus can cost you your life.

J.D. Vance - Hillbilly Elegy. Do you want to know how Donald Trump became President of the United States? This book, while not about President Trump, will tell you why. A look into a world you won't see on television, Vance tells a personal story of a forgotten America.

Tom Challies - Do More Better. Simply one of the best productivity books I've read. Written from a Christian perspective, it gives many insights into the whats, whys, and hows of getting things done.

William Manchester and Paul Reid - The Last Lion. This trilogy covers the life of Winston Churchill, one of the last century's most influential men. Well-written and full of surprising events and facts.  Entertaining and well-written, these books are well worth reading.

Friday, December 22, 2017

The Centrepiece of Christmas


Christmas can be a very peaceful time of year. Christmas gatherings bring friends family and coworkers together and for a moment people express gratitude for one another by exchanging gifts, cards, or a simple greeting. Decorated trees and the smell of Christmas cookies baking fill our homes with the warmth that does not exist other times of the year. Many people have a small nativity set that includes Mary and Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and angels gathered around a sweetly smiling baby Jesus. It helps us focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas: It is a time remembering the birth of the Messiah.

The story of his birth is well known and will be repeated in churches across the world. Pastors will struggle to find a way to make an old story seems fresh and new. Children will wiggle in church pews in anticipation of going home and opening the presents under the tree. After the singing of Silent Night there will be a mad rush for the door as people head home for dinner and gifts. It is a heartwarming tradition that is familiar to many people.

We need to remember that the baby lying in the manger was not what he appeared to be. Yes, he was a baby fully human in every way. But he was more than that, he was God himself come to earth. Early Chirstian artists tried to remind people of this by painting a halo around his head. Paul writes, "in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" (Col 1:19). The amazing mystery of Christmas is that God himself became a man. Mary and Joseph held their Creator in their arms! Jesus was the one who created all things and even as he lay in the manger he was holding the universe together.

That Jesus would humble himself to the extent of becoming a baby is amazing. He did this for an even more astonishing purpose: to die for the sins of the world! In order to do this he needed to be like us and be tempted in every way. Jesus knows what it is to be hungry, Tired, and abused. Through all of the experiences as a man he learned obedience His obedience was perfect. He never sinned. As a result his life could be offered as a sacrifice for those who had sinned. (Hebrews 2:10-18). His birth was an important step in bringing salvation to the nations. It is good that we celebrate it.

There are many dangers in our celebration of Christmas. Perhaps the most common problem is that people focus on the giving of gifts and the decorating of their homes rather than its religious significance. Commercialism runs rampant in many places around the world. Merchants realize that the tradition of giving gifts is an opportunity to sell their wares. They cannot be faulted for this. They make a living providing things for people to buy. In the midst of holiday shopping it is easy for all of us to forget why we are giving gifts.

There is a danger even for those that do remember that Christmas is a religious holiday. The problem is caused by the fact that the birth of Jesus is in the past. It is a tender story that we enjoy hearing. Jesus in the manger is good and safe. We forget that Jesus is no longer a baby in the manger. We forget that the prophets who told his first coming as a Savior also foretold that he would come as a Judge. Jesus himself told us that he is returning as Judge (Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46).

When he comes again, and he will, he will come as the judge of all the earth. He will come with great glory and myriads of angels. On that day it will be obvious that everyone has fallen short of the glory of God and is guilty before him (Romans 3:23). The great question on that day will be whether we have accepted his offer of salvation. For those who have repented and believed the good news that day will be a day a celebration of the grace and mercy of God. For those who have not accepted the offer of his salvation, their rebellious hearts will be exposed for what they truly are. Their condemnation will be doubly deserved.

The centerpiece of our Christmas should not simply be the baby in a manger but the entirety of the salvation message. It is not wrong to talk about the birth of Jesus. The Incarnation is an amazing event that should be celebrated. But we must also speak about its implications because on the day of judgment the question will not be whether or not we celebrate Christmas but whether we responded to the gift Jesus came to offer us.

In these days people are stressed with the preparations for the celebrations of his first coming. Time is running out. Christmas is coming. The most important question it's not whether we are ready for the Christmas celebration of his first coming, but whether we are ready for his second coming. Jesus told us that we must be ready.

Are you?

Friday, December 15, 2017

Something is Missing



Whenever I am in a new city or village here in France I always check to see if the church is open. Whether it is a grand cathedral or a small chapel, each of them has a unique feel. Some are architectural marvels while others testify to a more humble and simple style.

This time of year many villages are decorated for Christmas and the churches are often the backdrop of the area's famous Christmas markets. In addition to all of the decorations in shop windows and the thousands of twinkling lights in the streets, each church decorates its sanctuary in keeping with the style of the building. Here in Strasbourg giant tapestries depicting the nativity are hung in our massive Cathedral.  Smaller churches have simpler ways of decorating that are in keeping with the life of the congregation that worships there. Wreaths, trees, and manger scenes are common. So are decorations hand-crafted by the artists of the church.

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around in a town known for its Christmas market. The setting was magical. As usual, I looked for the church. Entering the church, I saw that it was well-decorated and beautiful.  As I walked around the I was drawn to the nativity set near the front of the church. It was wonderfully done except for one detail: there was no baby in the manger!



What could the explanation be?

Because it was Advent, I thought perhaps the pastor was doing a sermon series and was adding figurines to the display one-by-one until he added Jesus on Christmas. But that made little sense after I thought about it for a moment because there were figures in the scene that appeared after Jesus was born.

There was only one feasible explanation: someone had come into this unlocked church and stolen Jesus! I had heard of this happening from time to time in displays that were outdoors, but never in a church. It made me both sad and a little angry. The thought that someone would steal the figurine of Jesus from a church was almost beyond my comprehension. I should not have been surprised. It's simply a reminder that just as Jesus was often not welcome when he lived on the earth, he still isn't welcome today.

Remember the whole story of the birth of Jesus. His early years were spent as a refugee in Egypt. Joseph and Mary were forced to flee because Herod was trying to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:13-18). People have always been opposed to Jesus. They want him out of the picture. They do not want to acknowledge that he is the Son of God. If they could wipe all references to him from the pages of history they would. Stealing Jesus out of a nativity set is one symptom of this hatred of Jesus.

Usually, this eradication of Jesus is not so overt. It is subtle and quiet and takes place over many years. In the case of Christmas, it begins with the gradual emphasis on other things. Santa Claus, snowmen, and decorated trees are slowly pushed into the foreground. Jesus is slowly moved into the background. "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" replace "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World." Every trace of the birth of Jesus slowly fades away.

As an example of this, I remember one time at Christmastime I wandered through several large stores in the USA, looking at Christmas items for sale. Among hundreds of items like tree decorations, figurines, wrapping paper and greeting cards, there was not one image of the nativity. There were not even any angels to be found. Jesus had disappeared from the celebration of his own birth. I am sure that the store owners would say that they wanted to avoid offending people. Christmas sales, they reason, would be better without Jesus being around to distract people. They may be right about selling stuff, but that does not mean that people are better off without Jesus.

Each of us must realize that if Christmas is going to be more than a family gathering, it will be up to us who know him to talk about him. Many people are vaguely familiar with the story of Jesus's birth, but it does not connect with their lives. They don't see the potential impact that it can have on their lives. Who will explain the implications to them? It won't be the merchants at the Christmas markets. It will be people like you and me sharing how Jesus has changed our lives.

Perhaps you are visiting the Christmas markets and notice an attractive nativity scene. Why not start a conversation not only about the beauty of the set but about the incredibly good news it depicts? Or you could share the meaning of Christmas with an immigrant family. Or you can read the Christmas story together before you open presents. However God leads us, let us be heralds of the gospel this Christmas. Let us be the ones that put the missing baby Jesus back in the manger.






Friday, December 1, 2017

It's All About Love Part 3

This is the third in this series entitled "It is All About Love."


In this series, we have seen that we were created to be loved and to love others. We have seen that love is the law of the kingdom of God. We have also learned that laws have punishments or they would just be suggestions. We learned that the punishment for violating the law of love was death and eternal damnation. This punishment seems, at first, to be excessive. This article will speak to why it is not excessive. It is perfectly rational.

Defining Love

Love is one of those words that is used so many times that it begins to lose clarity of meaning. When we speak of love as being the law of the kingdom of God, we need to have a degree of certainty about what we mean by the term love. The term love in the Bible in general means "to be full of good-will and act accordingly, to prize something above other things, to regard and watch over the welfare of someone, to take pleasure in something, to be unwilling to do without something." We can say that to love something is to esteem it to be of high value and to act accordingly.

For example, a mother loves her child. She places a high value on the child and will spend hours caring for the child because she loves the child. This is good and right. A husband loves his wife. He values her highly and cares for her. He delights in her happiness. This is also good and right. The child deserves the love of the mother. The wife deserves the love of her husband. They are worthy of love because of who they are.

Who is Most Deserving of Love?

The one who is most deserving of our love and affection is God himself. Every single one of his attributes is absolutely perfect. Justice, mercy, grace, knowledge, power, presence, and love blend together with perfect harmony. There is no more beautiful being in the universe. Nothing is more deserving of our love and affection than God. This is why the first law in his Kingdom is that we are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He is 100% worthy of our love. He deserves our love and affection because of who he is. He is to be prized above all things!

What About Us?

The second law in the kingdom, which he says is "like the first" is that we are love others as much as we love ourselves. How are these related to one another?

The Bible teaches us that men and women have incredible value. Genesis 1:26 says that we were created in the "image and likeness" of God. The Hebrew words used here mean that we were created to be similar to God and to represent God. We are not God. But we are similar in some ways. In Genesis 5:6 we are told that Adam and Eve had a son named Seth. Seth was the image and likeness of Adam. He was not Adam, but there was a resemblance to Adam.

Naturalistic systems cannot account for the value of humans. The best effort they can make is to say that our species has developed a social way of interacting that is good for the preservation of the species. After all, according to naturalistic theories, everything that exists is simply various combinations of elements organized by random chance. There is nothing to give one grouping of elements more value than another. There is no rational reason that a human has more value than a fish or a rock.

Furthermore, the evolution of the species would be enhanced by the quick killing off of those members of the species that are weaker or a drain on the resources of the community as a whole. Such ethical thinking easily can be used to justify euthanasia or even ethnic cleansing.

In the biblical worldview, we have something different altogether. Each person on the planet has been created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore each of them has incredible value! It is for this reason that loving one another is "like" loving God. Each person you meet is made in the image and likeness of God and is worthy of love even when their behavior does not deserve it. This is why Jesus said, "Love your enemies."

What About the Penalty?

The laws of every country vary depending on the severity of the crime. Stealing a car is punished more harshly than driving through a stop sign. Killing a mosquito carries no punishment while killing a person carries a severe penalty. Killing the head of the government carries a harsh penalty compared to killing a commoner. We see the logic in this. In fact, we are offended when the punishment does not fit the crime.

God is infinitely worthy and infinitely deserving of our total love and obedience. The law to love him is good, right, and just. When a person chooses to value something else more than God, he has committed a crime of infinite magnitude. Therefore the violation of the law to love God is worthy of infinite punishment. Anything less would be unjust.

In the same way, when a person fails to love another human being, they are saying that someone created in the image and likeness of God is not worthy of love. The violation of the second law is similar to the violation of the first law. It is also worthy of infinite punishment.

Is There a Way Out?

You may be worried. You have come to the conclusion that the law of love makes sense and you are guilty of violating it. Everyone has (Romans 3:23). The guilt that you have before God is real. And you cannot make it up through good living. How many good things do you have to do to make up for an infinite crime? It simply isn't possible. It is all about love, and you haven't loved the way you should.

Yes, and the Way is a Person.

But someone else has. And that person is Jesus.

No one exemplified the life of love more than Jesus. He obeyed the law of the kingdom without fault or error. Miraculously healing the sick certainly qualifies as a loving act! There is more that lies beneath the surface of his miracles. For example, in Matthew 14 we read about the murder of John the Baptist. This news came after Jesus had been rejected in his hometown (Matthew 13:53-58). Jesus and the disciples were tired both physically and emotionally. They needed a break. When Jesus heard about it, he and his disciples got in a boat go to a desolate place to grieve and be restored (Matthew 14:13). We've all been there. We are tired and frazzled and need to get away to recharge our batteries.

When they got to the desolate place, they discovered that a crowd of thousands of people had gathered to see Jesus. Instead of being annoyed or disappointed, Jesus is filled with compassion and heals those who were sick (Matthew 14:14). The crowd in this isolated place is the setting for one of the greatest miracles: the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21). Jesus wanted to be alone and instead is filled with compassion and ministers to thousands. It is what happens next that amazes me.

Immediately after the miraculous feeding of the crowd, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go to the other side (Matthew 14:22). The word translated "made" means that he forced or compelled them to get into the boat. He knew that they needed a break. He knew they needed some time apart from the crowds. Jesus would dismiss the crowds himself. Jesus must have been exhausted, but his compassionate love caused him to send the disciples away while he finished dealing with the mass of people.

Jesus exemplified living according to the law of love. He never violated it. He never violated ANY of the laws of the Kingdom of God.

He died anyway. If death is the penalty for the violation of the law of love, why did he die?

His death was a gift of love. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son so that we might have eternal life. His Son died, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. Jesus said that the greatest love that could be expressed was to lay to down your life for a friend. And that is exactly what Jesus did. God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were sinners, guilty and living a selfish and self-centered life, Jesus died for us (John 15:13; Romans 5:8).

Jesus came to take the punishment for our failure to love God and one another. He came to bear the penalty on our behalf. Now, we have the opportunity to be forgiven and to enter into the love relationship with God that we were designed to have with Him. We were created to love and be loved by God and Jesus makes it possible.

So today we have the opportunity to change our minds and actions and become followers of Jesus. We can receive forgiveness for everything we have done wrong and Jesus will teach us to live lives of love.

What are you waiting for?