Last week, we left Jesus in the house of Caiaphas the High priest, where they had accused him of blasphemy and sentenced him to death. Unfortunately, this action is against the Jewish law. No one could be sentenced to death in the middle of the night. So we pick up historical account in Matthew 27:1…

Last week, we finished the teaching portion of the Gospel of Matthew. We turn to the events leading up to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. This is a sober passage, which is normally read around Easter. Not necessarily around Thanksgiving, but it is the basis for everything that we are thankful…

I don’t know if you have had the privilege of coloring with a small kid. Coloring with a 5-10 year old is one thing. Coloring with a 1-3 year old is something different. They grab a color and they color the entire page with that color. Yes, it was supposed to be a multi-colored dinosaur. But now it is…

Have you ever wanted to give someone a piece of your mind? Straight up tell them that they are being a jerk. Well, I wouldn’t recommend it. Because, when we do that, we are probably being a jerk also. It’s the whole, when you point three fingers are pointing back at you. Which is why, when I was a teen…

We’ve got another long passage today. In the middle of this passage, Jesus makes a strong statement against the religious leaders: Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in…

There are a few conversations that I love having. I love talking with someone about Jesus and their need for him. I love having someone approach me and ask how they can become a follower of Jesus. I love having followers of Jesus come up to me and ask how they can grow in their faith. And I love having…

Long time ago, before we had GPS systems that talked annoyingly to us. We had maps. Very useful things. Other times, we had friends and family who knew the better way. So, we dropped the map and we caravanned where we needed to go. Sometimes that was through the big city, and we knew the only way we…

Have you ever driven bumper cars? They are so much fun. Everything that you are not supposed to do in a regular car, you get to do in bumper cars. You are constantly bumping off of each other. What is ironic about bumper cars is that you don’t have to actually pay someone to bump off of people. We spend…

When I was in high school, I went to a political activism camp just outside of Washington, D.C. I loved it. I learned about how to influence politicians. I learned about the legislative process. I also learned how to bring down the house in a talent show. I cannot believe that I am sharing this story.…

It is said that the nine most important words in a marriage are: “I was wrong. I am sorry. Please forgive me.” These are also some of the hardest words to say. They take humility. And no one really truly desires humility. Merriam-Webster defines humility as the freedom from pride or arrogance. It comes…

One of the interesting portions of sitting at the booth at the County Fair is watching people. Seeing how people approach booths. How people walk around booths. I would sit behind our booth and call out to whoever came by: Everything at this table is free! Some people would come and look. Others would…

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed watching animal judging, especially showmanship. I was fascinated by the intentional movements and actions of the kids, the way they were supposed to dress, the movements they made, the way they intentionally handled the animals and held the lead ropes. I never showed…

So, I went to Pensacola Christian College for my bachelor’s degree. Many of you have heard of this school, but many haven’t. I went there because it was a cheap Christian college. When I started, they charged $5000/yr for room, board, and tuition. When I left, they had increased it to about $6500, I…

Most months, I am able to meet with a group of pastors in the surrounding area, good, solid Bible-preaching pastors, and talk about life and ministry. Most of the time there is laughter. Sometimes, there is tears. I think each one of us has cried sometime during those meetings. Sometimes there is energy.…

Have you ever gotten up the guts to share with someone about Jesus and the door has been shut firmly in your face? Preacher school has lots of odd assignments. One of them was for evanglism class. We were to share the Gospel with 5 people over the course of the week. Well, I didn’t get around much. So,…

I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July. We got to celebrate the independence that we have, the ways that God has blessed us as a nation, and hopefully, we spent some time in prayer for our nation, that revival would come and that we would place our hope back in the God who created us, instead of…