If we pray this prayer and really mean it, then we are entering into very scary, but...
Overview: Sermon explores possible implications of Christmas for work. Does the Incarnation influence, shape our understanding of the purpose or manner of...
Gifts. Perhaps most of our concern, energy, financial resources at Christmas involve the selection, purchase, and giving of gifts. Often this concern...
Overview: Advent is a time of spiritual preparation, anticipation, looking for God’s coming into our experience as...
Matthew 6:19-34 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in...
Matthew 6:5-15 5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to...
Matthew 6:1-4 1 Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them...
If Jesus’ parables give us a glimpse about what God is doing in the world, it seems that God appears to be...
Text: Matthew 6:25-34: Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will...
Multitasking. It’s the word of the age. We can balance the budget, set up the employee training sessions, schedule a dentist appointment...
“If the salt loses its saltiness, it’s good for nothing.” The policy was given to me on...
Sometimes we spend more of our waking lives with our co-workers than we do with our family. We go through births, deaths...
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in...
I knew these days would come. ...
If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty.
It seemed like such a small thing, such a tiny sacrifice.
The Gospel can sound crazy and nuts, giving anyone reason to reject it.
It’s not the size of the storm that matters. It’s not the impossibility of the job. It’s not the length of the invitation. What matters is the One who asks.
Scarcity surrounds us. Many people around the world do not have enough. Enough food, water, shelter, love, peace, comfort, material goods, natural...
On Mondays, I plan the week’s meals.
One common translation of blessed is “happy.” In saying “happy are the mourners,” Jesus makes a contribution to the lexicon of oxymorons.
From cover to cover, the Bible values relationships. Our relationship with God takes first place, of course.
None of us, really, wants to walk on water. We’re not supposed to. It’s against the rules.
If God values embodied relationships more than disembodied relationships, then you might say God has been doing a poor job of relating...
“Go,” Jesus says, “and make disciples of all nations.” Surely they must have felt deep sadness in this moment.
When we think about finishing well, we swerve toward headline events. But what about the less dramatic finishings?
We may not forgive as quickly as God, but perhaps we can remember how hard it is for someone to apologize.
God calls us beyond the status quo. God calls us above mere comfort. God calls us past our hunger for significance, for safety, and for surety. He invites us to live on the...
"We’re wired for change, aren’t we?" asks Sam Van Eman in his farewell as editor at The High Calling. "A cleaning-out there, a purging here. Eyes on the horizon, we press on."
There is life on the other side of failure, even though that life may never be the same.
When we see a need, most of us want to help. But how easily we fail to consider the person on the receiving end. Even our best intentions can unwittingly rob another person...
America has a problem with racism. American churches have a problem with racism.
"Questions fascinate me," writes contributing editor Dena Dyer. "Helpful questions give listeners the freedom to arrive at answers on their own. Jesus...
My agreement with The High Calling has me writing one 700-word Reflection each day, five days a week, 46 weeks a year.
Here in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we find the origin of the Golden Rule. Even among those who know nothing about Jesus and are indifferent to his teaching, these words are familiar. ...
If Jesus had never been born and these words had never been spoken, imagine what life in this world would be like—hard, harsh, hypercritical, and judgmental. But Jesus did live, and he did...
They’ve been judging dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club since 1877. Out of the 2,711 dogs in the 2015 show, the winner was a Beagle named Miss P. In Jesus’ day there were...
Mars One has been in the press recently. Its purpose is to start a human colony on Mars by 2025, and 202,586 people from around the world have applied. By 2024 that number...
How do we find our purpose in life? Do we determine it on our own? Wouldn’t it be better to first understand...
What promises can we make to those we hire? How do we back up our promises to them, and what steps do...
One circle contained the words “comfort zone”; the other circle contained the word “faith.” Then, the challenge: “Which circle do you want to live in?”
Some people are called to stay in their church; some are called to go. Lore Ferguson describes how her church encourages both.
Maybe we feed each other, give cups of water, visit the sick and the prisoner because we are part of a community.
These days people say Jesus was talking only about feeding the literal poor, but I also think he was talking about extending small kindnesses to people like me.
As we traveled across the city to a home for disabled children, I tried to prepare my kids for what we were...
Can we care for the needy through political means?
We've got to be willing to be different, to see how God sees so the world can see Jesus. We've got to...
Herod faced an immediate conflict of interest. He couldn’t embarrass himself in front of his guests or violate his oath. Yet he understood, if his wife did not, that John spoke the truth.
Jesus doesn't advise us to avoid the storms of life but rather to survive them.
Saying “Don’t worry” to a worrier doesn’t help. Anxiety demands more concrete assistance.
Like any good rabbi, Jesus asks lots of questions—like nine in just these ten verses, all on one topic and with two answers. The subject is worry and anxiety. Jesus understands that worry...
There is nothing more confining than trying to keep all your options open. The Arc de Triomphe is the meeting place of...
My optometrist put a photographic scan of my eyes on a computer screen and began telling me all about the health of...
I appreciate receiving notes from many of you in response to these daily reflections. Recently, after reading my comments on the opening...
May the work of the Great Commission help form our character to be more like Christ.
I find Jesus’ investment advice hard to take. But then again, I don’t have a good investment track record. In October of...
The three great religious practices among the Jews were giving, praying, and fasting. Jesus’ own ministry began with an epic forty-day fast...
At this point in Jesus’ prayer, this phrase may seem like déjà vu all over again. Hasn’t Jesus already covered confession and forgiveness? Does he intend this as a postscript or an exclamation.....
Ben Franklin is credited with offering up the little proverb, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Jesus had...
Do you have a hard time trusting God with your money?
Are you a forgiving person? How does a person become forgiving? Here’s one key. Jesus told his disciples, “The one who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47). There’s something about being...
There is no place where we reflect more of Jesus than when we forgive others.
The Lord’s Prayer is only seven verses long. You can pray it in less than a minute, but in that brief time, Jesus teaches us twice to pray to receive and also to...
There are multiple ways to translate the word debts in the Lord’s Prayer, so we’ve devoted three reflections to that word. First, we considered sin which means not being in the place we...
What changes might you consider making to shift from selfish ambition to one of stewardship?
As a wide-eyed 20-year-old new believer, I was ready to conquer the world. I was also a young woman on the verge of becoming a young professional.
Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” because life is a fundamentally physical experience. Then Jesus teaches...
I once learned that when writing it can be helpful to put the subject in the middle of a circle and then use your imagination to walk around the subject, viewing it from...
The second half of the Lord’s Prayer shifts from aspects of the spiritual life to physical and...
When Jesus speaks of God’s will being done both on earth and in heaven, it makes me wonder what heaven will be like. It is certainly true that for all its beauty, this...
So far Jesus’ teaching on prayer has taken the form of a warning about two things, audience and length. Having told us how not to pray, now Jesus tells how to pray. ...
Once again Jesus teaches us to think of and address God as “Our Father.” The significance of this cannot be overstated. The power at the center of the universe, the brilliant mind behind...
Jesus’ world was jam-packed with gods. Remember the Greek gods? They stretched from A to Z, from Aphrodite to Zeus.
Jesus warned that hypocrites pray before people, but his disciples were to pray to God. Specifically he said, “Pray to your Father...
In Jesus’ day there was no government funded welfare or Medicare system. Needy people were on their own and at the mercy of those with the means to help. Hebrew society was known...
Help us grow in self-awareness, not merely for the sake of controlling our own behavior but to show your unconditional love to...
What does Jesus mean when he refers to “practicing your piety”?
Once again Jesus pushes the reset button on what we understand the good life to be. His formula, “You have heard it said … but I say to you,” makes it clear that...
In writing these daily reflections, I am very fortunate to work with an excellent editor.
Show no pity! That was the prevailing worldview in Jesus’ day. For nearly fifteen hundred years, the rule had been, “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand...
When Jesus forbids swearing falsely, he isn’t referring to cursing, but to making deceptive promises. Human beings are experts in the fine...
Give us great wisdom to show others that we care.
Remember the game where people sit in a circle and one person begins by whispering a phrase into the next person’s ear...
Breaking news! Sexual purity is very, very important to Jesus. Modern culture may be pretty relaxed about it but not Jesus. And...
We all get angry. And of course, some things should make us angry! Injustice, abuse, deceit, betrayal. But anger comes at a...
In Jesus’ day everybody knew that the scribes and Pharisees took the scripture more seriously than anyone else. The problem was that...
The existence of the Bible boggles the mind. Over a two thousand year span of history, some forty different authors, many of whom had never met, writing in wide ranging literary forms from history...
Thank you for teaching me about the dangers of loving money and for protecting me against its lure.
When Jesus said that he came to “fulfill the law and the prophets,” he meant it—literally. He came to fulfill the scriptures...
Light! It has captured the curiosity of scientists, philosophers, theologians—and common people like you and me. The scientific community continues to make...
Remember, regardless of what you see when you look in the mirror, Jesus wants you to know that you are his twenty-four-carat disciple.
Jesus has been describing blessings that come to those who hand over the reins of life to his control. It’s certainly a...
There is so little peace in the world. Sometimes it seems so full of simmering hostility and rage. It’s even deadly for...
Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount with a description of eight provocative blessings. If you were to think of these blessings...
Mercy is equal parts forgiveness and compassion. Mercy is God’s chief attribute. Do a quick Google search of “the Lord is merciful,”...
We all know what it’s like to be hungry for food or thirsty for drink. These pangs and cravings are part of the body’s miraculous early warning system about the essential things we...
Meekness? As a word it’s not widely used. It sounds like some form of weakness until we read in the Bible that Moses was the meekest man who ever lived. ...
The Old Testament ends with a curse!
“Blessed” is Jesus’ first word in the Sermon on the Mount. The first time the word “bless”...
Most people would be anxious to get to the meat of Jesus’ teaching, but let’s not skip too quickly over this introductory...
After wisely and thoughtfully writing 1,400 of these High Calling Reflections, my good friend, Mark Roberts, has passed the baton to me...
In the 1300s, a merchant guild built a magnificent cathedral in Coventry, England. Its chapels honored different vocations ...
It’s a humble sort of word, goodness. Perhaps that’s why we often overlook it or underestimate its creative power as a prophetic witness of the Kingdom of God.
We tell stories, short histories of people living out their faith in daily life. Jesus told parables, a kind of story that...
Some guy with a beard and a fading plaid shirt tells me that he’s all about building his life around making Jesus...
When our first child was born, my husband wondered how we would buy diapers. We lived in a small, rural community where my husband served a small, sweet congregation. My husband’s salary was...
The first thing I ever bought with my “own money” was a toy light saber. It wasn’t one of those expensive beauties...
Bob Fraley, one of the top track and field coaches in America, faced a critical career decision. After twenty-three years at Fresno State, the school was eliminating track and field. Fraley's...
My husband took me to Hawaii for my fiftieth birthday. On the morning I turned fifty, we boarded a plane and headed...
“I’m tired,” he said, and the heaviness of his voice pressed in on my chest making it difficult to breathe. “I’m so...
For many years, my only experience with jail was as a token on the corner of the Monopoly board. Sometimes I’d make...
At the cross, Jesus generously gave his life for us. And yet, we can easily take that gift for granted and respond...
For centuries, Holy Week was the focal point of the Christian calendar.
“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Living beyond mediocrity can mean many different things. I continue to learn that, in some ways, living beyond mediocrity does not mean we need to do more. Instead, I realize, we live beyond...
Several years ago a popular song celebrated the fact that "God is watching us from a distance." From his far away perch, God sees the beauty and harmony of this world, rather than...
This is John’s dispatch to Jesus from his prison cell after hearing “the deeds of Christ.” The sobriety of the question and...
We won’t settle for pseudo-events. We won’t settle for success theater. We will be present together—in the physical world and in the...
A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves...
I like to be busy and I like to brag that I am busy. But this is not cool.
We all receive many invitations in our lives, but one invitation that arrived in our mailbox stands out from all the rest. My wife and I were invited to The White House for...
Below is my graphical representation of the Gospel. It is the four-chapter story of God’s working in history for the restoration of the cosmos that He created. ...
Transcript Some while ago, we were opening a large supermarket in Corpus Christi, which was the headquarters of our company at the time. And everything was going along well. Many people were coming...
Work, meaningful work, requires us to be fully present and then good things follow.
Jim was CEO of the hospital, but he still served ice cream at the annual ice cream social. During the day, senior staff members scooped gallons and gallons of ice cream for anyone...
Recently, I was catching up with an old friend. We had attended the same church through high school. "I'm an atheist now,"...
Lent is the season of dirt, a dusty and ashen interlude between Epiphany and Easter. So it’s appropriate to consider The Parable of the Sower… a story that, whatever else it may be...
A farmer and his neighbor argued over a wandering cow. The neighbor stomped off—and the farmer kept his neighbor's cow. The two men quit speaking to each other. ...
They came for Jesus with swords and clubs. You can imagine how it was when the chief priests and elders organized them. Some might have been paid. Others were told that Jesus was...
I find the Baptism of Jesus confounding. Why does Jesus insist on being baptized by John when the clearly stated purpose for it is repentance? John the Baptist, the prophet whose singular mission...
For centuries, the people of Israel watched for a superhero to rebuild their kingdom beyond what the great King David had achieved in his glory days. When Jesus arrived on the scene, he...
When I go to the bank around the corner, the service is consistently terrible. It doesn’t matter if I park my car and go into the lobby, drive my car to the drive-up...
The people who lived and traveled with Jesus must have been in a state of constant confusion. That guy was so unpredictable...
Peter sounds like that eager student hoping—and expecting—to gain approval from the teacher. Peter assumes that all of the other people would...
"Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus," was written by the prolific eighteenth-century hymn writer, Charles Wesley. Brother of John Wesley, the cofounder of Methodism, Charles wrote over 6,000 hymns,...
G. K. Chesterton once observed that the reason Jesus connected “neighbors” and “enemies” is because they are often the same people!
One time on our campus, I got into a heated argument with an administrator.
One day my publisher sent me a letter asking me for a list of “influencers” in my world. I had never heard anyone call anyone an “Influencer.” So I wrote the publicist and...
Introduction by Mark Roberts: I am pleased to welcome Dr. Scot McKnight as our reflections writer for this week. In his day...
Transcript Judy wanted most in life to serve the Lord! Should she quit her full-time job for full-time ministry? She earnestly asked God to show her what to do. The next week, in...
Have you ever wondered if what you're doing with your life and work are really worthwhile? Have you wanted to do something significant for God—to make your life really count?
On an otherwise ordinary day, little Siri Jordan's grandmother asked her to ride along to the airport. "I'm picking up a friend," the grandmother said.
"Listen, Janet," Richard said in frustration, "this report is not acceptable. You need to redo it and have it on my desk...
In an old sitcom, the running gag was a mechanic saying to his boss, "It's not my job." The expression became popular for shirking responsibility.
World Vision tells a story about Deborah. Years after the genocide in Rwanda, Deborah could not get over her son's death—so she daily asked God for help. One morning a young man came...
We look up at the ceiling, which is abruptly shifting. Our hands suddenly appear to be miles away. We find ourselves running a race without a finish line and almost drowning in a...
One Sunday morning while attending a church in the suburbs of Boston, I had a surprisingly authentic moment with a complete stranger.
In 1974, Dr. John Coleman was president of Haverford College. He had written several books on labor relations. That year, for his six-month sabbatical, instead of hitting the speakers’ circuit, Dr....
Jesus had a way with words. He spoke with authority and the "crowds were amazed" (Matt. 7:28-29). He talked a lot about himself, his mission, and God's kingdom, offering challenging, quotable...
Transcript In August 2006, Fox News featured a television special entitled, "Can Rick Warren Change the World?" The interview focused in part on Warren’s attempt to form a global network of churches. Together...
The temple in Jerusalem was not one, large, open structure, but rather a series of nested courts. At the core was the temple itself, which included the holy place (sanctuary) and the “holy of...
As Jesus suffered on the cross, he cried out to his Heavenly Father with familiar words: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This question is the opening line from Psalm...
Even at this late stage in Jesus’ ministry, his disciples didn’t comprehend what he was doing and why. Thus, when the men with Judas grabbed Jesus, one of the disciples began to fight...
Once again in Matthew 23 Jesus criticized the scribes (theologians and teachers) and Pharisees (laymen with a zeal for the law). These folks wanted to impress people with their exemplary piety. So...
In this story, the Pharisees, along with some supporters of Herod, put Jesus between a rock and a hard place. They knew that paying taxes to Rome was extremely unpopular among the people...
As Jesus entered Jerusalem to cries of "Hosanna," the crowd had high hopes for him. Surely, if he were the Messiah, Jesus would gather together an army and soon lead a successful attack...
When James and John tried to obtain positions of honor alongside Jesus in the kingdom of God, the other disciples became indignant. No doubt they also wanted the kind of glory and power...
The greatest communication success story in history is how the gospel spread across the Mediterranean world.
Christians understandably honor people of great faith.
"It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." Matthew 15:11 Old Testament law specified which foods the Israelites should...
In Jesus' feeding of the 5,000, we glimpse his compassion for people. But his feeding miracles reveal more than this. They also connect Jesus with God's work and promises in the Old Testament. Even...
As Jesus preached in the rural regions of Galilee, he naturally communicated his message with common illustrations from everyday life.
Jesus used a familiar agricultural reality to illustrate the difficulty of distinguishing between genuine and false disciples.
Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, offers to each of us the refreshment of frequent, recurring rest.
As Jesus sent the twelve disciples out into the world to do the ministry of the kingdom of God, he warned them that they would not always be well received. Even as he...
In the time of Jesus, wine was often stored in the carefully prepared skins of animals.
It's easy for us to read the story of Jesus forgiving and healing the paralyzed man without being unsettled or even surprised.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons. Why? What was Jesus trying to accomplish by these mighty acts?On one level, the healings and exorcisms of Jesus demonstrated his...
The New Living Translation of Matthew 7:7 adds "keep on" to the more common trio of imperatives (ask, seek, knock). This is not a creative paraphrase, however. If anything, it is a literal...
Jesus often used hyperbole to communicate with his audience.
What is the kingdom of God? Sometimes we equate the kingdom of God with heaven. This misses the precise meaning of the kingdom, though it is closely related to what we call heaven.
In the world of Jesus, the majority of people had little more than the bare necessities of life. And these could be easily taken away by war, famine, or disease.
The original Greek of this verse says that we cannot serve God and mammon (an Aramaic word meaning money or possessions). Jesus personifies mammon here, revealing its demonic power to hold us in...
Earlier in this chapter, Jesus warned against giving alms and praying in public for the sake of human adulation.
It's an amazing thing to be forgiven by God. Because of his grace poured out through Christ, we can be forgiven for all of our sins, no matter how horrendous they might be...
This is one of the most famous of Jesus' commands . . . and one of the hardest to obey.
When Jesus taught in his hometown, people said, "What's this wisdom that’s been given to him? Isn't this the carpenter?"
In Jesus' day, it was tempting for people to excuse their sin by focusing only on their actions.
From a biblical point of view, a pure heart is a heart of integrity. It entails singlemindedness in devotion to God. Moreover, those who honor God with their whole hearts will also live...
What does it mean to hunger and thirst for justice? The Greek word translated here as "justice" is dikaiosune, a term that...
The funny thing is, the humble are probably not interested in inheriting the earth. Yet in the kingdom of God, things are turned upside down. Those who haven't aspired to personal greatness will be...
Ever since sin broke God's perfect world, sadness pervades our existence. Oh, to be sure, there are times when we rejoice. But we also experience times of mourning, even extended seasons of...
The Sermon on the Mount begins with The Beatitudes of Jesus (from the Latin word beatus, which means "blessed").
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, our healer!
Jesus invites us to acknowledge the presence and power of God's kingdom. He urges us to think and live in a new key. But the center of his invitation is essentially personal: Come...
How has God disturbed your life? How have you responded? Are you willing to be 100% committed to God today?
One of the distinctive features of Matthew's list of Jesus' ancestors is the inclusion of four women, each of whom had an unusual and painful story to tell.Take Bathsheba, for example (2 Sam. 11-12...
From our point of view, the beginning of Matthew's Gospel seems oddly uninspiring. Why not begin with Old Testament prophecy, as did Mark? Or with a statement of purpose, like Luke? Or even with...
"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people." Matthew 4:19 "He also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and...
Like most of us, Jesus' disciples wanted to be great. Once, they forthrightly asked Jesus, "Who gets the highest rank in God's Kingdom?"
Whenever people live or work together, they need to practice forgiveness because we humans are imperfect. No group can function long before...
I envied my friend's job: five times a week he types out a column for a big city newspaper, poking fun at local politicians and red tape . . . and gets paid...
"When the fullness of time had come, God . . . " ...
“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.” Matthew 6:12, The Message ...
Blessed are the . . . Matt. 5:3–11 ...
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up...
Transcript Joan was a new volunteer in a major hospital ER. She didn’t expect a standing ovation—but sometime during that first rough evening, she expected someone to thank her. But no one did...
When I was younger, people loved listening to the wildly colorful Dizzy Dean on baseball's Game of the Week.
There is an undeniable attraction in reducing all the Bible’s moral imperatives to just one overarching command. For John Maxwell, this is...
Wayne is still struggling with his dilemma. He returns to his bookshelf to see what else might be of assistance. John Maxwell’s There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics almost jumps out at...
If developing character and virtue are so important, then there are several key questions we have to grapple with. They are: How do we define a virtue? Who actually determines what is virtuous...
When it comes to answering the question, ‘Does our work matter to God?’ most churches say yes. But they give different answers...
Matthew, the tax collector-turned-apostle, recounts Jesus’ actions and teachings to show us how God intends us to live and work in his new kingdom.
Work is an essential component of God's kingdom. Matthew, the tax collector-turned-apostle, recounts Jesus’ actions and teachings to show us how God...
At the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus announces that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). When we read...
We live in what theologians call “the already, but not yet.” The kingdom of heaven has already been inaugurated by Jesus in...
Herod’s Disturbance (Click Here to Read) In this daily reflection from The High Calling, Mark Roberts writes about how, in contrast to Herod in Matthew 2, we can submit our daily life and...
Nearly thirty years have elapsed between chapters two and three. John the Baptist reveals Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God...
Chapters 5 through 7 in Matthew's Gospel give us the most complete version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. While this very...
The Sermon on the Mount opens with the beatitudes—eight statements beginning with the word blessed.[1] This word affirms a state of blessing that already exists. Each beatitude declares that a group of people...
The “poor in spirit” are those who cast themselves on God's grace.[1] We personally acknowledge our spiritual...
Those blessed with mourning about their own failings can receive comfort by admitting their errors.
Understanding the fourth beatitude turns on understanding what Jesus meant by righteousness. In ancient Judaism, righteousness meant...
If you are blessed with sorrow for your own failings (the second beatitude) and with right relationships (the fourth beatitude), you will...
Purity of heart arises not from perfection of our will, but from reception of God’s grace.
The seventh beatitude takes every Christian worker into the task of conflict resolution. Conflicts arise whenever people...
The eighth and final beatitude may strike us as negative. Up to this point, the beatitudes have...
Following the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers that people who receive these blessings matter: You are...
Jesus makes a startling statement in Matthew 5:20. “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you...
Jesus speaks about wealth frequently. Wealth and provision are not in themselves work, but they are often the result of work, our own or someone else’s. A central tenet of economics is that...
Not only are we to ask God for our daily provision, but we also are warned against stockpiling material wealth and other...
Jesus calls us to realism about ourselves that will keep us from picking at or judging someone else: Do not judge, so...
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the...
In chapters 5 through 7, we heard Jesus teaching about the kingdom of heaven coming to earth. In chapters 8 through 9, we see him enacting that kingdom through deeds of compassion and...
In chapter 10, Jesus sends out his disciples to proclaim the coming kingdom and to demonstrate it through powerful deeds of mercy...
Making Time Off Predictable and Required Read more here about a new study regarding rhythms of rest and work done at the...
Beginning in chapter 13, in the face of opposition, Jesus’ teaching style changes. Instead of proclaiming the kingdom clearly, he begins to...
In Jesus’ day, Jews paid taxes both locally to the Jewish temple and to the pagan government in Rome. Matthew records two...
In chapters 18 through 25 of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives concrete images of what life in God’s kingdom is like. In many...
All workplaces experience conflict. In this passage, Jesus gives us a template for dealing with someone who has wronged us. He does...
The issue of money, earlier discussed in Matthew 6, raises its head again with the story of the rich young man who...
Max DePree, Leadership is an Art (New York: Doubleday, 1989), 9.
The parable of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32) is about two brothers whose father tells them to go work in his vineyard...
The parable immediately following the parable of the wicked tenants (Matt. 21:33-41) takes place in a workplace, namely, a vineyard. However, Jesus...
Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day often fought over the relative importance of commandments. Some held the view that observing the Sabbath was...
One of Jesus’ most significant parables regarding work is set in the context of investments (Matt. 25:14-30). A rich man delegates the...
Jesus’ final teaching in this section examines how we treat those in need. In this account, when Jesus returns in his glory...
The plot to kill Jesus moves forward as Judas (one of the Twelve) goes to the religious leaders with an offer to...
More than any other Gospel writer, Matthew emphasizes the earth-shattering implications of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and brings us...
The Great Commission is to “make disciples,” not merely to “win converts.”
God cares about our work, and the Scriptures have much to say about this. As noted at the beginning, the Gospel according to Matthew addresses the theology and practice of work on many...
Verse Theme Matthew 4:18-22 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were...
Decision-making is a relationship issue First and foremost, decision-making for the Christian is a relationship issue. Often the reason we have so many problems discerning God’s leading is that we just aren’t close...
A single principle or command? Wayne is still struggling with his dilemma. Should he pay for the repair of his customer’s car...
Wayne is still wrestling with his customer’s request. Should he meet the cost of the repair? So...
When we work in the marketplace as Jesus followers, there’s a phrase that often rings in our ears. The words come from Matthew, chapter 6: “You cannot serve both God and money.” The...
Few Christians would argue that competition is entirely good. We have all seen too many excesses to affirm the competitive drive out-of-hand – including plenty in the Scriptures. The Bible narrative has barely...
Because of our involvement with numerous Christian organizations and churches, we both have had occasion over the years to see their application...
Each day of this reading plan takes a piece of The Lord's Prayer and shows how to apply it to your work.
Perfectionism steals your joy, energy, and creativity. God can lead you out of perfectionism into freedom.
Do you wonder if God has anything to say about your work? Explore key verses from each chapter of the Bible that...
Many lawyers struggle with having a good work and life balance. Clients can be demanding and there can be strict deadlines that need to be met, which are usually urgent. Often this means...
The poor and underprivileged have limited access to justice as they do not have the means to pay for it. Yet many lawyers got into law in the first place as they felt...
Sometimes our clients (or even other colleagues) have motives or objectives which do not align with our own. How do we act...
Sometimes things go wrong. This may be in relation to a particular client and their situation which we cannot control or due to a mistake we have made. Many of us have a...
What does disruption mean for the legal profession and our jobs/role/identity? Lucy is reading yet another article about “disruption” and how it...
Withstand a performance review and give feedback in a biblical way.
How can a church integrate workplace issues into a normal structure of weekly preaching and small groups? This integrated series can serve as a model. The Ruth series, piloted by Reservoir Church in...
Week 1 introduces the congregation to the series on Ruth, as well as to the concept of Whole Life Discipleship. Senior Pastor...
This is the first sermon in the series: “Inspired: The Whole of Life with God in the Picture.” It was delivered by...
This content is part of the Ruth and Parables curriculum, an 11-week integrated sermon and small group series on faith and work...
Week 2 covers the topic of investing in other people, especially those people who seem like unlikely candidates for investment.
Week 3 demonstrates how to bring a guest speaker into an integrated sermon and small group series. Val Snekvik, a guest speaker...
Week 4 demonstrates how a pastor can integrate work stories from members of the congregation into the order of the service. (See this additional resource on how to conduct faith and work interviews...
Week 5 offers some real life examples of people doing work that they feel is for God in the course of their...
This is the fifth sermon in the series: “Inspired: The Whole of Life with God in the Picture.” It was delivered by...
Will Messenger of the TOW Project delivers the sermon for week 6. This sermon covers the biblical basis for the goodness of...
The talk for week 7 was given by Dave Schmelzer, former Lead Pastor who is visiting and reporting on his new ministry endeavor in Los Angeles. He discusses what it’s like to go...
In week 8 Senior Pastor Steve Watson talks about risk taking and planning for a legacy using...
This is the eighth sermon in the series: “Inspired: The Whole of Life with God in the...
Week 9 discusses the work of redemption. Senior Pastor Steve Watson uses Boaz’s actions in the book of Ruth to discuss how...
Will Messenger of the TOW Project delivers the sermon for week 10. He offers his own perspective from the business world on...
For the last week of this series, blogger Leah Archibald speaks about finding fulfillment in work from the point of view of...
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