PASTOR'S PEN

And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them .” Luke 15:2 In the English language, one word can have many meanings. Take love, for example. I love pizza, my dogs, my kids, my wife, and God, but I don’t love any of those the same way. Biblical Greek has seven different words for love to convey different meanings. The four most familiar words are as follows: 1. Eros , which refers to romantic or sexual love. From i

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. Luke 4:31-32 I have heard Christians say that they are not concerned about doctrine or theology when looking for a church. The conversation goes something like this, "I want to find a church that loves people and Jesus. Nothing else matters."   You might even be thinking, what's the big deal? Why are doctrine and

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise .”  Luke 23:43   So what will we do when we get to heaven? I have heard some really strange ideas about what will go on in heaven. Following are some of the things I have actually heard people say at funerals about what we will be doing in heaven: drinking beer with our friends, playing golf, fishing, gardening in our flower beds, playing with our pets, playing bridge, playing baseball, become ang

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 Have you ever said to God, “I will follow you wherever you lead me”? In chapter 9 of the Gospel of Luke Jesus was walking down the road when a man caught up in the moment said  to Jesus “I will follow You wherever You go.” He thinks discipleship will be a glamorous life. Jesus corrects this impression. He tells him that discipleship is not easy. It’s a difficult l

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me . Luke 9:23 Well here we are again, another New Year. I never look forward to the first two weeks of the New Year. Why? Because it’s the time when people make those New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and get in shape. Now don’t get me wrong I think that’s a great resolution but the problem for me is the gym will be so crowded that you can hardly get on any of