3 Areas Where You Probably Choose Herod Over Jesus

One of the titles that Matthew gives Jesus in his first couple of chapters is “King of the Jews.” The irony is that the Roman senate gave that exact title to Herod a few decades before Jesus was born. As far as Rome was concerned, Herod was King of the Jews. But when some foreign astrologers look right at Herod and ask where the King of the Jews could be found, Matthew’s readers had to have known that something was about to go down.

What Matthew Means by "God With Us."

It’s mind boggling to think about how God chose to make his big entry into the world. The rulers of the Roman Empire got parades and cheering crowds. Their faces were on every coin and everyone in the known world knew their name. And there’s no doubt that any dissenters would quickly and harshly be silenced. But Jesus came in almost completely unnoticed (besides his immediate family, only some astrologers, shepherds, and a paranoid governor knew who he was). And even in his obscurity, Jesus’ birth was surrounded by scandal and his first years were spent in hiding. These are odd circumstances for the Son of God to choose for himself.

7 Things Your Church Should Be Doing But Probably Isn't

I am a big fan of church. And I would like to see every church reach its full potential. The following are challenges, not just to church leaders and pastors, but also to church members. They are challenges to push your church to excel in these areas in order to be a better ambassador of the Gospel to the world.

Why ‘Eaters’ Must Turn into ‘Feeders’ and ‘Feeders’ Must Always be ‘Eaters’

In a church family there are three types of people. There are “eaters”, “feeders”, and those who are neither. An “eater” is someone who comes to church and church events ready to be fed. They are eager to learn, eager to grow, and ultimately desire to be guided along the way to a deeper, more mature relationship with God. This is the ideal new Christian or new church member. A “feeder” is someone who is involved in church and church events with the goal of ministering to others. They are there to “feed” eaters.

God's Challenge to the Extrovert

My wife and I got married and moved to a new town in the summer. The first few weeks in our new home were very slow, quiet, and filled with alone time. That probably sounds awesome to most couples, and it was. But it wasn’t always easy. We weren’t alone by choice. We had just moved to a new town and didn’t know anyone and weren’t apart of anything. My wife is a teacher so she didn’t start work until the fall and I didn’t start my job until after that. So for the first few weeks, we had nowhere to be and no one to see.