In Old Testament times, lepers weren’t just considered to be sick with a skin disease. No, they were ceremonially unclean, unfit to associate with anyone else in society. In fact, they were supposed to live “outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:46), and anyone who touched them became just as unclean as…

In today’s world, we aren’t just bombarded with too much information through our TV, computer and smartphone screens. No, conflicting worldviews like Socialism, Critical Race Theory, America-First Nationalism, and even the “Name-It-And-Claim-It” Prosperity Gospel compete for our loyalty. How can we know whom to believe? And no less urgent is…

So, why would anyone want to follow Jesus? Regardless of what the peddlers of the false “prosperity gospel” say, He doesn’t promise anyone worldly wealth. In fact, the first disciples of Jesus abandoned their careers and all their property in order to follow Him. And James and John had to…

What is the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ? If you want a one verse summary, look no further than Mark 1:15. “The time is fulfilled.” This means of course that all the long years of waiting for God to keep His promises to His people are over, as…

What sorts of things do you find tempting? Now, to be sure, there’s nothing wrong with pleasure in itself – after all, God invented it! But when we let our desire for any sort of pleasurable sensations override our understanding of right and wrong, that’s when we’ve allowed temptation to…

“Who is Jesus?” That’s the critical question for all of us. His own disciples didn’t understand Him at first, but John the Baptist was different. Before John was even born, he leapt in his mother’s womb for joy when Jesus’ mother came for a visit (Luke 1:41). And in today’s…

What does it really mean to get ready for Jesus’ coming? We Presbyterians would probably point to knowledge of important doctrines, some of which we find in verse 1: Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed Son of David that God had promised would rule over His people. Moreover,…

A short marriage and a long widowhood would be enough to make many people bitter with disappointment. And many people who reach the age of 84 think they have nothing left to offer, and that life has somehow passed them by. Maybe that’s where you find yourself during this season…

What did the Lord tell Solomon would happen if His Old Testament people turned away from Him, forsaking His commandments and rejecting His perfect law of love for God and for other people? God said He would remove the blessings He had bestowed on His people, casting them out of…

To Jesus’ Jewish listeners, this teaching was simply outrageous. In those days, the Pharisees were the good guys, the straight-arrow types. They read the Bible and really tried to put it into practice in their lives. Indeed, the self-description of this Pharisee in verse 12 still puts most of us…