This Week The Kingdom of God is Not Too Small Imagine a rich uncle tells you that for your birthday he’d like to buy you a car, “Just go pick it out.” You go to the used car lot and choose a 20 year old compact with rust and 200,000 miles. Maybe you chose that…

This Week Drawing the line Do you remember COVID? Unless you’re a newborn or have a failing memory, of course you do. Remember the unknowns, the fear, the divisiveness, and the decisions? Leaders of St. Andrew prayed often as we entered that season that the Lord would guide us to make decisions that would reflect…

This Week Be outstanding The first half of Romans 13 tells us to give to everyone what we owe them, even to the government. The second half of the chapter gives us one more specific thing we owe everyone. Then, we are encouraged to conduct our lives as if we live in the light, not…

This Week The Christian and the Government Just those two words together might make you squirm a bit and probably with good reason. Fear not, no preacher here will tell you how to vote. You’ll have to decide that for yourself. But the Spirit guides all of our lives, including our relationship with and responsibility…

This Week Lord, give me patience . . . You know how that petition concludes, “And give it to me right now!” You know some people who are given to demonstrating patience sometimes, but no one does so all the time. Something “sets off” everyone. What is it you have no patience for? In Romans…

This Week Why are you so gifted? That question might make you sit up a little taller. I suppose that’s because we focus on the last two words and congratulate ourselves. There might be something to that. After all, the Bible does say each of us is uniquely gifted by God. But let your eyes…

This Week Oh, my Have you gazed upon the infinity of the heavens, the vastness of the sea, or the beauty of a child and muttered, “Oh, my.” It’s not just that you don’t know the words to say, it’s that words can’t express what you’re feeling. Paul does something like that at the end…

This Week Remnant response Do you know any World War II veterans? Probably not—few are left. Maybe you are part of a group that you would call a remnant. It could be original homeowners in your neighborhood. It could be smartphone holdouts. At one point in our world, 100% of the population knew the true…

This Week Testimony In the church, the word testimony makes some uncomfortable. It conjures up images of a tearful speech, filled with regret and sadness but then ending with happy outcomes and more ups than downs. Fear not, this Sunday is not “Testimony Day.” You won’t be asked to “give your testimony.” Yet, according to Romans 10, every…

This Week Trying to do too much Have you heard that phrase? Used that phrase? Maybe the context was “overacting” in a drama setting or refusing to take a break from work. Can we try to do too much in our spiritual lives? In Romans 10, Paul describes a zeal not based on knowledge. It…