Jesus reveals that true leadership is about taking responsibility for others, not amassing authority for ourselves. As the church, what image of kingship do we promote?
All by Justin Simmons
Pursuing Jesus Like Zacchaeus
The challenge with stories like Zacchaeus is that they can become too familiar.
Opportunity at the Gate
Jesus’s parables catch me off guard, causing me to question whether my assumptions about myself, God, and the kingdom are grounded in truth.
We All Want to Be Seen
If you walk into a pre-K classroom and tell one child you like their socks, within seconds you will have 15 four-year-olds all showing you their socks. We all want to be seen.
Settling for Peanuts
Is the presence of Christ set as the destination of our spiritual GPS? Or are we stuck on the side of the road, settling for peanuts, having forgotten where we are going?
Taking up the Mantle
Our respect for previous generations often creates a crisis when the moment comes for our generation to assume responsibility for the Lord’s work.
Time Keeps on Slippin' ... Or Does It?
The Bible portrays time as a series of connected loops, each one taking us back to the past, even as it moves us into the future.
I Am a Big Brother
When I say I am a big brother, I’m not speaking only in relation to my little sister. Rather, I am a big brother in a Luke 15 kind of way.
The Uniform of the Enemy, the Heart of a Friend
After Jesus speaks to the people about loving their enemies and doing good to those who hate them, the first person we encounter is a centurion.
Call Failed
As ministers, we are called to counsel those who are experiencing a prayer life full of “dropped calls.”
The Darker Side of Christmas
For the first time in my life I am having to balance the grief that comes with loss and the joy of the Christmas season.
Attack the Hill!
Fred Craddock suggests that, rather than respond to the world’s bad news, we proclaim the good news.
Understanding Jesus, Understanding Ourselves
Until we understand who Jesus is, we cannot properly understand who we are. If our Christology is wrong, our anthropology will undoubtedly be flawed as well.
Called Out of Nothingness
God has a history of using the most unlikely of suspects. Maybe it is because by using such people God’s action is more clearly recognized as just that: God’s action.
Do Not Care?
When the storm hits the disciples’ boat as it crosses the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’s apathy is noted. Could there be anything more apathetic than sleeping?
I Saw the Lord...
Isaiah sees the true king only after the human king is dead. Judah’s king Uzziah has died, yet their true king, the God of Israel, is still very much alive.
What Is Winning?
As pastors and preachers, are we regularly reminding our communities what winning looks like?
“What Is Truth?”
The question hangs in the air because the answer will come not through the words of Jesus, but through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Coaching the Team
I have found my mind dwelling on the similarities between coaching and pastoring, between a team and the church.
Gospel in the Key of G: Keeping Jesus's Glorification at the Center
The gospel is also written in a certain key. If we fail to take note of it, we might find ourselves playing the wrong notes, interpreting things the wrong way.