There was only one Black Friday. It was not the day after Thanksgiving. It was not a day when self-oriented consumers bumped into, climbed over, pushed into, screamed at, and hated the other consumers who were in their way. No, all the action of the one Black Friday was on a hill of death outside the city where three souls hung on crosses —two criminals and the Messiah. Christ doing what he came to do and what the world was desperate for. That Friday the world went dark, the Father turn... Read More

Download This Video Transcript (this transcript has been lightly edited for readability) Well, when you are going through a moment like this, where your life seems out of control, and you really don't know what is going to happen next and what the future will be like, or as people have been talking about, what will be the new normal? Where do you go for peace? Where do you go for comfort? Where do you go for rest? Well, there's a passage in the Old Testament that answers that.... Read More

When the bottom falls out when chaos becomes normal when justice gets twisted when innocents die when leaders fail when answers grow complicated when actions seem futile when grief overwhelms when the fog of confusion descends when loved ones ask, but I have no reply when I taste my tears when events sicken my stomach when I’d rather not see than see then I remember you then I run to your temple then I open my eyes to your majesty then I preach to myself of your fatherly care then I poi... Read More

When injustice assaults again when image-bearers die again when grieving mothers mourn again when communities lament again when eyes are closed again when backs are turned again when right takes a hit again when business as usual returns again when accountability is questioned again when narratives are twisted again when anger rises again when hope dims again then we remember again the kings of earth do not hold our hope they will fail us again they will compromise again forsake their call ag... Read More

There is a time to celebrate and a time to lament. There is a time to rejoice and a time to weep. There is a time to sing and a time to scream. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. There is time to speak and a time to meditate. There is a time to feast and a time to fast. There is a time to count your blessings and a time to count your losses. There is a time to listen and a time to act. There is a time to build your house and a time to offer it to others. There is a time to find joy i... Read More

Download This Video Transcript (this transcript has been lightly edited for readability) I don't know about you, but I would imagine you're like me. I miss Sunday mornings. I love Sunday mornings. I love gathering with God's people. I love the greetings. I love the pre-service conversations. I love hearing somebody next to me singing the gospel into my ears. I love the preaching of God's word as we walk our way through a portion of Scripture. I love the gospel. I love ... Read More

Download This Video Transcript (this transcript has been lightly edited for readability) Well, in my own study, I came across, again one of my favorite Psalms. I love the Psalms. I think one of the functions of the Psalms is to keep us honest about the difficult realities of life in the fallen world, about our struggles of faith, about the range of emotions that we'll experience, about all of, sometimes God confuses us. Sometimes we come to Him with deep abiding questions, sometim... Read More

Download This Video Transcript (this transcript has been lightly edited for readability) The plan of God, the purposes of God, the move of redemption marches on. Nothing can stop God's plan. And as I was thinking about this, I was thinking that, in this moment, calls us as God's people beyond survival, beyond our own safety, it calls us once again to remember that we are not just the recipients of God's work of redemption, we're the instruments of that work as well - th... Read More