Bible study
Advent is coming. Are you ready?
These six new Advent devotionals may help.
Reading the Parable of the Great Banquet in prison
"Why you even invite us to any of this," asked Richard, "if you’re just gonna humiliate us and throw us out?"
by Chris Hoke
Prayer on the go: A busy pastors spirituality
I was taught that my labors as a minister don’t count for my own spiritual life. Realizing that this is untrue has brought me great relief and joy.
On not preaching (as often)
I’ve been an associate minister for two years. I love associate ministry. While I understand that it is a stepping stone for a lot of people, I feel deeply called to this role--both in general and in the specific context of the church I serve.
I used to be in solo ministry. When I made the transition, there were surprisingly few bumps--in large part due to my wonderful colleagues. And one of the big differences between solo and staff ministry is the increase in opportunities to work collaboratively.
Another is that I no longer preach every Sunday.
Old Testament drama
My church's adult Sunday school class ended up doing a six-week study of one of John Ortberg’s inspirational and easy-to-read books. A member of the class loved the book and wanted to share and teach it—and who can argue with six weeks off as a teacher?
Before that, we’d been through many of N.T. Wright’s “For Everyone” study guides, and we'd organized a successful unit on Islam and Christianity, taught well by an instructor from our county college. We’ve read Adam Hamilton; we've added online conversation to our Lenten study. Now what?
Now it’s personal: Reclaiming a relationship with Jesus
Our Bible study group was looking at the women at the tomb, and I joked, “We don’t need Jesus today, he’s not in this story.” I was unprepared for the wave of grief that washed over me.
Sunday, October 17, 2010: Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
In his love for the law, the psalmist is effusive and sensual; with a few word changes, verse 103 could be said to a lover.
by Paul Stroble