My guess is that you’ve heard the idea, “It’s possible to do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.” In the church, it might play out something like this: We can read our Bibles, go to church, put money in the collection plate, and live an exemplary life, yet all as a means of serving ourselves. Perhaps we do these things to ease a guilty conscience; perhaps it’s to impress others, or per...  Read More

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”-Matthew 5:44-45How many of us have ever heard (or used) the phrase, “Don’t get mad; get even!”? Most of us want to fight back when someone hurts us. We want to prove we are right and the other person is wrong. In our highly-polarized society, the fabric of self-preservation is woven deeply ...  Read More

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:5-6God’s design for marriage is for a husband and wife to leave their families and to form something new. This involves much more than a contract, or even a commitment....  Read More

How many of you have memories of either singing (or teaching your own children) the song, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see…”? This children’s song is a reminder that little eyes don’t just see another child’s toy, they can lead one to envy what another has. Jesus says much the same thing in Matthew 5:27-30 by using the example of someone looking at another person lustfully.There is little ...  Read More

Has this ever happened to you? Your colleague belittles you in front of your coworkers, and you silently plot how to get even. A driver rudely cuts you off on the freeway, and you hit the accelerator to show them what you think of their driving. Your parents made mistakes that have hurt you, and you’ve spent your adult life being angry over how they treated you.Anger can be incredibly corrosive wh...  Read More

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” - Matthew 5:17Have you ever noticed that very few drivers come to a complete stop at a stop sign? Most prefer the “rolling stop option.” Or the many places in Warsaw where a light turning from yellow to red is almost always guaranteed to have a truck or car running through it? P...  Read More