Read Revelation 2. The church in Ephesus got a lot of attention in the New Testament era. We see one evidence of that here, right at the beginning of Revelation 2. It was the recipient of the first of the letters to the seven churches. Jesus had many commendable things to say about the church in […]
Revelation 1
Read Revelation 1. Hardly anyone on earth knew Jesus like John knew him. John was called by the Lord to be part of the inner circle of disciples along with Peter and James. They heard and saw things that others who followed Jesus didn’t see and hear–including the other apostles. So if anyone who was looking […]
2 John, 3 John
Read 2 & 3 John. In the early 2000s, the “emergent church” was a big topic of conversation in Christian circles. A few young pastors had rapidly built ministries and reputations for being able to reach younger people who had a post-modern mindset. Today, nobody talks about the emergent church. It fragmented and died almost […]
1 John 5
Read 1 John 5. When I was a teenager, I was introduced to my grandma’s sister Helen. We had met before when I was much, much younger, so we needed an introduction to get re-acquainted. Whoever made the introduction–my aunt, I think–told Helen that I was planning “to become a minister.” Helen immediately said, “Oh! […]
1 John 4
Read 1 John 4. Nobody got Jesus’s instructions about love more than John did. He is called the “apostle of love” because love was such a theme in his Gospel and in his letters. We’ve read about love repeatedly as we’ve read 1 John but 4:12, which we read today, makes a startling statement about […]
1 John 3
Read 1 John 3. When you look at your children, you see things that are familiar. Maybe he has your hair color or your eye color. Maybe she looks like your spouse did as a child. Have you ever heard your child say something and thought, “That’s exactly what I would say!” Do your kids […]
1 John 2
Read 1 John 2. It can be difficult, at times, to know whether someone who claims to be a Christian really is one. Many people claim to love Jesus, to have believed in him, and to be his followers. I find that whenever I meet someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus, I […]
1 John 1
Read 1 John 1. Our faith is primarily about God. He is our Creator; we belong to him and are accountable to him for how we live this life. Due to Adam’s choice to sin, none of us is capable of pleasing God by living up to his perfect righteous standard for how to live and […]
John 21
Read John 21. After his resurrection, Jesus made several appearances. We read about an important one today here in John 21. The purpose of these appearances, of course, was to demonstrate his resurrection. But although he spent extended time with the disciples, he did not resume his previous ministry, nor did he overthrow the Roman […]
John 20
Read John 20. This chapter recounts the fact of Christ’s resurrection (vv. 1-9) and the proof of that resurrection through Jesus’s appearances to many disciples (vv. 10-29). Despite the unprecedented display of power that was Christ’s resurrection, the disciples were very much afraid of the persecution that could come from being Jesus’s disciples. Verse 19 says […]