Author: Norm

THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 127 “Unless the Lord builds… the builders labor in vain… (Psalm 127:1) What if my house or city falls, if I don’t have kids, or can’t sleep? Does this mean God is not for me, God is not blessing me? Or if my church is not growing, is it because God is…

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Corinthians 9-10 “I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law.” (1 Corinthians 9:21) Paul uses the law of Moses for guidance, but He submits to Christ’s law. We are not under the law of Moses, we are under the law of Christ. That law can be summarized as ‘love God…

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Corinthians 6-8 “When you sin against them… you sin against Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8:12) Paul is writing to new Jesus followers in Corinth who asked for advice. God inspires Paul to give them Jesus-shaped advice. Jesus is the measuring stick for what they should do. Paul is doing here what we need to do…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Acts 4:1-12 “Called to account for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame.” (Acts 4:9) As a Jesus follower, I believe that Jesus is God’s way of salvation. Jesus comes expressing perfect love and goodness – and dies for it. But death couldn’t hold Him, for He did not…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Acts 3:11-26 “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Acts 3:21) Compare Peter and John’s boldness here to their fear before Jesus died. Either they’re nuts, or they’re telling the truth! They are not just on fire about ‘forgiveness’ or ‘going to heaven’. They know God is using Jesus and…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Acts 3:1-10 “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”(Acts 3:6) Was Peter saying they were penniless, or that they had no money on them? If they did have money, would they have offered that instead? My…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Acts 2:42-47 “With glad and sincere hearts!” (Acts 2:46) These people did not start a ‘church’, it was a community on fire! They were bonded together by faith, hope and love, and it was contagious. Do you know of any gatherings of Jesus followers that reflect this fire? Assuming that your faith community…

THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 126 “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.” (Psalm 126:5) The things that normally cause tears are wrong, bad, unfair or hurtful. There’s something wrong if we don’t weep at injustice, grief or tragedy. Tears are universal, a natural response to our messed up world. “Blessed are those…

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Corinthians 3-5 “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants!” (1 Corinthians 3:5) Paul was only a servant, and so was Apollos, so was Peter. So was Luther, so was Spurgeon, so was Billy Graham, so are you. We create hierarchies in the church, and in some ways they’re unavoidable. But…

THE STORY OF JESUS: 1 Corinthians 1-2 “I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) As a Jesus follower, I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. He is in charge as Lord, and He is our only hope for full LIFE. Sounds foolish doesn’t it… but it gets worse. As a…