Why do we recoil at predictions of judgement? Why do we resist warnings? Do we not think that warnings of judgement to come can be words of grace as well? Just last night, as the storm from Hurricane Harvey blew across our city, I was irritated...
I've had some crazy dreams in my lifetime. The strangest ones are when things or people morph into others. In some dreams, I'm carrying on a conversation with one person in a certain location only to be transposed to another location where I am speaking...
I have been amazed this week at how relevant Revelation is to our lives today. Revelation 4-5 give us a picture of heaven in the form of a vision. In this vision, we see the redeemed people of God gathered around his throne to worship...
Titles have always been somewhat of a challenge for me. Early in the life of our church, people wanted to know what they should call me. Reverend Patty? Brother Scott (a good Baptist term)? When asked, I would say, "Just call me Scott." That didn't...
This Sunday at Grace, we will begin a sermon series from the Book of Revelation. Revelation is a book of the Bible that stands out from other books because of its style and content. It is often called apocalyptic or prophetic because it reveals certain...
"Beloved, let us love one another," writes the Apostle John (1 John 4:7). Jesus and John both said that to love one another is a command. What were they thinking when they commanded us to love? Did they mean that we should love people from the...
In our meditation on the love of God and the command to love one another, we cannot overlook a central point: those who love have been born of God (I John 4:7). Jesus said we must be born again to enter the kingdom of God (John...
The love of God is often called into question. When natural disasters occur, we ask how God allows this to happen. When an evil person harms innocent people we wonder where God is. Our depression can easily be interpreted to mean that God has abandoned...
Twice, the apostle John wrote the concise theological statement that "God is love." (I John 4:8, 16) He never meant to say that love is God. God is a personal being; love is an attribute of a person. God exists as an independent being; love...
