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Grace is a gift. An incredibly confounding gift. I think that is why so few people, even the people who claim to live by grace, actually believe in it. Does that sounds strange? Let me unpack it.

[Read more…] about Unstoppable Grace (Psalm 114)

They swarmed around me like bees;
    they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
    But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

Psalm 118:12

[Read more…] about Love Wins! (Psalm 118)

For the past three weeks, I’ve wrestled with Christmas. I longed for that magical feeling, wondered if the day should be more about the birth of Christ or the new way of being God invites us to embrace, and highlighted how disjoined our world is from the one God invites us to partake.

[Read more…] about Christmas Salvation

One of the things I find most frustrating about Christmas is that we celebrate a King whose Kingdom we rarely see. The frustration only deepens when we understand what the word “Kingdom” means.

[Read more…] about Will Christmas Ever Come?

Years ago I preached a Christmas Eve sermon titled, “Putting the X Back in Christmas.” The idea was to play with common Christian objection to abbreviating the holiday Xmas. Before the service, I built a large X out of 2x4s that stood on a stand off to the side of the stage. At a pivotal point in the sermon, I turned the X 45 degrees so, when combined with the stand, it formed a cross. The sermon concluded that this Child King came to die so we could be forgiven and spend eternity in heaven.

[Read more…] about A Christmas King or Kingdom?

Christmas is magical. We know this for children who eagerly anticipate waking up to see what Santa brought them (because nobody expects coal in their stocking). The same is true for those semi-annoying adults captivated by the season. But there is also a way it is true for those of us who often struggle during the season.

[Read more…] about When Christmas Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas