A Son on the Throne

The promise of a son is one of the more prominent threads which weaves itself through the biblical story of redemption. Immediately after Adam, a “son of God” (Luke 3:38), disobeyed and fell into sin, God came to him with a promise that the seed of the woman would ultimately win out over the crafty serpent who had lured them into distrust and rebellion. A son of a woman would enter into combat with the great enemy of God and after being struck by his foe, the son would crush the head of the serpent and put an end to his power and influence over the world.

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On the Day of the Dead

One of the fascinating things about crossing over into a different culture is thinking through how to live as a Christian in your adopted culture, and how that process sheds new light on living as a Christian in your home culture. As we encounter different cultural customs and celebrations, we have to work to understand what they mean and then, informed by the word of God, determine how we may or may not participate. 

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A Quiet Soul

King David was the highest authority in the land, overseeing a small, yet powerful nation. His responsibility was great and his tasks were endless. Internally, he had to both ensure the peace and unity of his palace and his country. Backstabbing, deceit, and insurrection were common among the ruling elites of Israel and David had to manage it all with wisdom and confidence. On a national level, his responsibility was to unite the diverse and often disconnected tribes which constituted the nation of Israel. On top of all that, there were the constant wars and skirmishes being fought on the borders against enemy nations. 

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Kids Club Continued…

This past summer we ran a week-long kids club (vacation bible school) in the neighbourhood where we are ministering and one of our goals was to follow that up with a weekly kids club. We were not quite decided on the exact format, but in the weeks that followed the kids club, we made sure we were at the sports court on Thursday afternoons with soccer balls, basketballs, chalk, and skipping ropes so we could play with the neighborhood kids. 

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Book of Sins

“I’m a good person for the most part.” 

“My good outweighs my bad.” 

These are common responses when people are asked about the morality of their life. Most of us consider ourselves good people, and yet we also readily acknowledge that there is an abundance of hate, violence, and brokenness in the world. How does that compute? 

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Kids’ Club

About three weeks ago we ran our first ever kids’ club event here in Santa Barbara. There was a moment during that kids’ club that will stick with me for a while. It was the third day of the club, which was two hours of games, crafts, singing, and a bible message, and I walked over to a corner of the sports court to take a picture. As I held up my phone and looked through the screen, I could see about thirty kids running about, a handful of parents watching from the bleachers, and all the volunteers overseeing the whole operation. I felt really grateful and silently thanked God for answering our prayers. 

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A Little Nudge

Things are fairly slow on the news front. I’d love to tell you of the smashing success we have had and the hundreds of people reached with the gospel. But that hasn’t quite happened and we get excited when even one person shows up to the Sunday evening service. At times it has been discouraging. Of course we know success is not measured strictly by numbers, but by faithfulness to the task which the Lord sets before us. Truly and honestly that is a wonderful truth that keeps us going, but that doesn’t mean discouragement or doubt are magically eliminated. Those thoughts persist and have to be dealt with. 

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We Don’t Know What To Do

King Jehoshaphat was a mixed bag. At times he displayed godly wisdom and a clear-sighted vision of what God requires of the king of His chosen people. At other times he lapsed into human folly and sought to make Judah strong through ill-advised alliances. However, in the Chronicler’s account of Jehoshaphat’s “battle” against Moab and Ammon, we see in this mixed-bag king one of the most clear and memorable confessions of dependence on the Lord. 

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The Parts We Leave Out

Unless the Lord builds a house,

its builders labor over it in vain;

unless the Lord watches over a city,

the watchman stays alert in vain.

In vain you get up early and stay up late,

working hard to have enough food

Psalm 127

You moved across the country to start a new job. A dear friend has wronged you. Your husband has cancer. Your child is rushed to the hospital. 

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