A Reformed Church in Wasilla, Alaska
Blog/News (Page 2)
Like the rest of us in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I was stunned and sickened to learn that the young man who opened fire on worshipers at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, was a member of an OPC congregation. Our little denomination, virtually unknown to the world at large, was now associated…
Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17:7-10 is a reality check for our easily-inflated sense of self-worth. Lest we think our lives as Christians entitles us to God’s blessing, or that we are somehow doing God great favors by our following Christ, Jesus emphatically reminds us of this truth: we are mere servants. And unworthy ones at…
One thing I love about our congregation is the friendly reception visitors receive when they come to our Sunday service. I also appreciate how some people in the church are especially active in inviting and bringing friends and family members to join us for worship. So it’s not as though we’re an unwelcoming church, or…
In God, Marriage, and Family, New Testament scholar Andreas J. Kostenberger (with David W. Jones) has provided the church with a superb resource to help Christians understand and navigate the difficult issues of family, marriage, and sexuality. Though the breadth of the subject is vast, Kostenberger’s treatment is helpfully succinct (288 pages). He not only…
We call Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem at the end of his earthly ministry the “Triumphal Entry.” And rightly so, for the scene was one of triumph. As Jesus approached the Holy City, he was met with the jubilant praises of the crowds. They laid down their cloaks on the road for a royal welcome, joyfully…
Technology has flooded our homes like a tsunami. We’re awash in devices and screens of all kinds, with their near-hypnotic power to capture and monopolize our attention. And what’s more, just as victims of a real tsunami are helpless to restrain the surging waters, so parents may feel the digital deluge is an overwhelming force…
In Luke 16:14-18, a very brief section of teaching, Jesus addressed a difficult subject: the relationship between the law and the gospel in the salvation and life of the Christian. The better we understand his instruction on this, the greater love we’ll have both for God’s grace and for God’s commandments. In v. 16, Jesus…
Last Sunday I preached on Luke 16:1-13, the parable of the man known as the “dishonest manager” or the “unjust steward.” This passage has caused more than its share of head-scratching perplexity. For in it Jesus sets before us as an example worthy of emulation a man who is a scoundrel, a first-rate schemer and…
Jesus’ most famous parable, the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, is really a story about two sons, the younger and the older (v.11). The younger son had enough of life at home. He did the same dreary chores every day and saw the same old things every day. Worse, the rules and…
After Jesus declared to the multitudes the high cost of discipleship, that to “come after” him meant nothing less than hating one’s very life and bearing the cross, he said: “He who has ears to hear to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:25-33). Soon after Luke tells that “the tax collectors and sinners were all…