THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 23:13-22 “You make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” (Matthew 23:15) I’ve never watched ‘Austin Powers’, but I have heard of Dr. Evil and his mini Me. His protege is a mini version of himself, a clone of his evil ways. Discipleship is the process of making…
Author: Norm
Just plain Norm is fine!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 23-1-12 “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (Matthew 23:11) I am not a fan of people giving me titles, like pastor, or reverent, or worst of all dominee. This last one is a practice in my dutch tradition; the word origin is ‘lord’. The argument given for these titles is…
Humbled before the Lord!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 22:41-46 “No one could say a word in reply… no one dared to ask him any more questions.” (Matthew 22:46) Have you ever had a discussion with someone who strongly rejected God, Jesus, religion, etc.? They had their arsenal of arguments ready to attack, to expose it all as hogwash. ‘What do…
Does your face know?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 30 “You clothed me with joy that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.” (Psalm 30:11-12) There’s someone at the coffee shop who is very spiritual, but not a Christian. As a Jesus follower, I should want him to be like me, right? Thing is, at least outwardly he…
God is on Jesus’ side!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Joshua 4-6 “‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord.’” (Joshua 5:14) Many religious people believe that God is on their side. Nazi’s believed God was with them, Westboro Baptists are confident God supports them. God’s angel was not there for the Israelites,…
Stepping into the Jesus Way!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Joshua 1-3 “As soon as… their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.” (Joshua 3:15-16) Notice that the flooding waters don’t stop until they step towards it. This is the step of faith, where we act on what God says contrary to what we see. John Ortberg was right,…
Rules of the road!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 22:34-40 “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:40) There are so many laws associated with driving, the ‘rules of the road’. The purpose of these laws is not to restrict us or hold us back. The reason for a speed limit is not to limit us….
Asking questions!!!
Theological humility!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 22:23-33 “You are in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) A big part of my job is reading, interpreting and applying the bible. Depending on how you read the bible, you can totally miss the point, and cause great harm. Jesus rebukes these…
Good citizens of the kingdom!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 22:15-22 “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) The religious leaders are setting Jesus up, baiting Him to defy Rome to be arrested. Jesus’ response avoids their trap, but what is Jesus actually saying? The religious leaders implicate themselves with their opening words to…