Posts by Pastor Matt (Page 4)

I finished another book last week called Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael Gorman. It just might be the best book I’ve read this year. Gorman shows how and why the book of Revelation is relevant and important for the church today. Revelation is not a book that’s just about the future. Its purpose is not to excite us about a future secret rapture of the church (as depicted in the Left Behind series). Rather it calls the people of God to…

I finished a book the other week called The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight. It was an easy read in which McKnight presents what he calls “The Jesus Creed” in five sections. 1st Section The first section is how a spiritually formed person loves God by following Jesus and loving others. Jesus amends the famous Jewish Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your…

You learn a lot by teaching kids. I teach a few different groups of kids each week. Every Monday morning, I teach a group of five-year-olds at a local YMCA. It’s incredible to bring the gospel to these kiddos for the first time. Most of them have never heard the gospel before (they didn’t even know who Adam and Eve were), but they love hearing about the love of God. Twice a month I teach a group of three- to…

Easter was nearly two weeks ago. At my house, the Reese’s peanut butter eggs and jelly beans are nearly gone (a good thing!), but I can’t seem to steer my focus away from the significance of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (another good thing!). Our risen King has defeated sin and death with His life and with His love. He has ascended on high and reigns as King, having been given all authority in heaven and on earth.…

A significant aspect of my job as a pastor is to visit those who are suffering from illness. Several times a week I spend significant time with hurting people, many of whom are nearing the end of their life. When death does come, some people try to offer comfort by saying something like, “That’s not her. That’s just her body in the grave. She is in heaven.” But is this how we should think? While I write this, my daughter…

This may be shocking and may sound strange, but the truth is that no one is fully human. None of us has yet reached the level of virtue and perfection that characterizes a true human being. Human beings are perfect. In fact, to say “There’s a perfect human” is like saying, “There’s some wet water” or “There’s some cold ice” or “There’s some hot fire.” Human beings are perfect. That’s how God designed them. Adam and Eve knew what it…

Death is not our friend. It steals away those we love. It ends life too soon and causes immeasurable hurt and despair. But the worst thing about death is that it’s something we cannot stop. It is inevitable. “The future (death) is something everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes per hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.” – C.S. Lewis Death is inevitable. We cannot stop it. We cannot avoid it. Our lives are short, and death is…

The other day as I checked out at a local department store I provided payment with a gift card I recently received over the Christmas holiday. However, the gift card didn’t have enough to cover the entire price of the purchase, so I used my credit card to pay the remaining balance. I didn’t dare short-change the cashier. That would be rude (and illegal). Sometimes I think Christians short-change the gospel. We mistakenly water down the gospel so that it…

We’ve just made our way through the busiest, and perhaps for some, the most stressful season of the year. Gifts were given. Meals were served. Catching-up with family members has renewed a longing to be with them longer than what the holidays will allow. For me personally, the last few weeks have included all kinds of experiences, both good and bad. Over Christmas break we celebrated with my brother-in-law and his wife in Kansas, who announced that they will be…

Over the past several weeks, our church has been working through the book of Romans. This week we were in chapter 6. There Paul makes the promise that “sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (6:14). First, notice that this is a promise. Something has happened. Something has changed so that from now on sin will not rule over us. This is great news! The reason why sin will no longer…