I find it interesting that Jesus doesn’t make much of physical death. On two occasions where he raised people from the dead he called it “sleep.” For Jesus, (and the apostolic writers) the death that matters is the death that takes place at conversion. God’s perspective on death is unique from ours. What we call…
Category: Words to Live By
A Word to Those Who Lack Faith (part 2)
Last week I was honored to speak at a memorial service. The room was full and many offered meaningful words and shared memorable stories. As people processed by the casket, I stood at the door and greeted people as they departed the room. One of those toward the end of the line gripped my hand…
A Word to Those Who Lack Faith
A study released last week revealed that cancer will likely overtake heart disease as the number one cause of death in the world in 2010. The most complete statistical data on leading causes of death I could find were located at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention web site. According to the CDC, the…
How Will You Die?
This weekend I’m beginning my talk with a very important question: How will you die? I assume you will take that question to mean, “What will be the cause of my death?”…as in an accident, disease, or natural causes. But that’s not what I mean. What I mean is, “How will you face death when…
The Achievement of the Cross in Colossians
Last weekend I spoke on Jesus’ sixth statement from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). After presenting a bit of word study, I spent the rest of the message focusing on the implications of the finished work of Christ on the cross according to the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossian church….
A Word to those Who feel they have Failed
At the conclusion of six grueling hours of suffering on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). At first glance it would appear that the Son of Man had failed to accomplish his mission. Jesus came to establish his kingdom on earth where God’s will is done as it is in heaven. But…
A Word to those Who are Empty
Have you ever been thirsty? When I was in high school I spent many a summer day working for farmers in the hay fields putting up hay. My fellow workers and I would trudge up and down the pastures with our hay hooks, throwing as many bales of hay as possible onto the wagon. When…
A Word to those who Feel Forsaken (part 3)
Jesus’ word of desolation from Psalm 22:1 is not without hope. Scholars believe that Rabbi’s and Rabbinical students would not have memorized or meditated on isolated verses of Scripture. They would quote aloud the first verse of a passage and then meditate on the content that followed. If this is true of Jesus, he quoted…
A Word to those who feel Forsaken (part 2)
As darkness covered the land, Jesus calls out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” This is a strange thing for the Son of God to utter. Jesus’ relationship with God the Father had been a hallmark of his existence. Consider the following: “In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. The Word…
A Word for those who feel Forsaken
Jesus’ fourth saying spoken from the cross is perhaps the most intriguing of the seven. The scene suddenly changes as the noon time sun turns to darkness. At this pivotal moment, Jesus cries with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Scripture discloses that Jesus was crucified around…