More Than Words...

One morning, as I was reflecting and reading, my attention was drawn to these disturbing verses near the end of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  - Matthew 7:21 (ESV) Jesus isn't addressing those who criticize Him, but rather individuals who seem to follow Him—those who speak positively about Him and minister in His name. They engage in impressive activities: "Prophesy in your name" - Warning others and calling for obedience, sometimes revealing future events. "Cast out demons in your name" - Liberating people from spiritual bondage.  "Do many mighty works in your name" - Performing good and miraculous deeds. These actions resemble the ministry of prophets in the Old Testament and what we see from Jesus and His apostles. While one might think these acts fulfill God's will, Jesus responds in a shocking ...

I’ve come to realize that I’m something of an expert in one area of life.  I'm not being arrogant, it is just true and it’s not really something to brag about.   I am an expert in sinning.  I am a sinner.  I may not hold that title as my primary identity anymore, but I know what sinning is.  I’ve had plenty of practice, both in secret and in public, for all to see.  I sin.  I’m not proud of this, but let's be honest, I’ve sinned throughout my entire life, and so have you.   When I first believed in Jesus, I was just a little boy, only 5years old, which means that I have sinned in my life more as a Christian than a non-Christian.  Think about that for a moment, because you may have been a Christian for a long time, yet you still wrestle with sinful patterns and attitudes.    Welcome to the club.  As a sinner, I can tell you that sin is more than just breaking God’s law.   The root of all our sin begins in our...

  If you’ve spent any time in leadership—especially within the church—you know about ‘the weight’.  It’s the invisible burden carried by leaders who feel that, ultimately, "the buck stops here." I've felt this weight acutely in my years serving as a pastor at Don Valley Bible Chapel (DVBC), particularly as we navigated a series of intense, community-shaking trials. My tenure at this small North Toronto church has included the profound tragedy of an eight-year-old girl’s murder, a wound that cut to the soul of our community and tested our faith to its core.  We then faced a devastating fire that displaced us for many months, forcing us to redefine what "church" looked like without a physical home.  And, of course, the communal challenge of COVID-19 that forced us to rethink church gatherings and demanded constant, high-stakes decisions with no clear playbook. In moments like these, leadership scrutiny is immense.  Every decision is analyzed; every word is weighed...

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ ministry is often described as being centered around meals. As Robert Karris famously put it, "In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal." This simple observation uncovers a profound truth: Jesus chose the table as a primary context for kingdom ministry. His mission strategy wasn’t built around events, buildings, or platforms. It was built around meals. Jesus spent a lot of his time eating and drinking with people. His evangelism and discipleship were built around long conversations over grilled fish, loaves of bread, and wine. The rhythm of his ministry was deeply relational, immersive, and hospitable.  It was a strategy of presence, not performance. Consider the stories in Luke alone: Luke 5: Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at the home of Levi. Luke 7: Jesus is anointed at the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal. Luke 9: Jesus feeds the five thousand. Luke 10: Jesus eats in the home of M...

Jesus knew that the kingdom He was establishing would be so different from what people were accustomed to that He spent much of His ministry teaching about the Kingdom of God.  At times, He directly contrasted His kingdom with the ways of earthly kingdoms, as He does in Matthew 20:25-28. In this passage, Jesus explains to His disciples that the way authority is exercised in God’s kingdom is very different from the ways of earthly kingdoms.  Leadership in His kingdom is not about power and control but humility and service. The kingdoms of this world rely on power, force, wealth, and hierarchy. Success and greatness in leadership are seen as climbing up the ladder to a position of status where one can give executive orders from the top and enforce change on those below to control outcomes and make things happen. But Jesus tells His followers, “Not so with you.” God’s kingdom operates differently, and He points to Himself as the example.   So, how does Jesus exerci...

The Bible tells a unified story of God’s plan to overcome evil and restore all of creation through Jesus, who died and rose again to build His redeemed family—the church and bring God’s good kingdom rule.  However, God’s kingdom is not coming all at once; we live in an overlap of time where God is rescuing people from the world’s kingdoms into His kingdom, which has already begun but will not be fully realized until Jesus returns.  As His kingdom people, we are called to live by the values and ways of his kingdom, yet we often adopt the world’s ways of thinking about success, life, and the church.  Paul warns us in Colossians 2:8 not to be taken captive by worldly philosophies. Yet, if we don’t put some effort into realigning our thinking with God’s kingdom, we risk embracing a version of Christianity that fits into cultural expectations but lacks the power to transform lives. The first section of Acts tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the very beg...