Author Archive | janej

It’s good to be blogging again! I missed these past few “Holy” weeks so I could spend some time in Chicago with my daughter and her family…which made Pastor Sean’s message this past Sunday all the more relevant to me. You see, Laura is not only my daughter, she’s also my sister in Christ! She […]

Seeing the video this week of “Who is Jesus?” reminded me that Jesus himself said, “…open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35) The faces on the video (and the Holy Spirit) also challenged me: have I stopped looking? Are my eyes shut to people outside my comfort […]

Jesus was certainly “No Ordinary Man” as this chapter in The Story reveals. When you look at the list of accomplishments Jesus set in motion with his teachings, it’s incredible. He – and his disciples – sparked a revolution that continues to this day! Pastor and author John Ortberg has written a sweet little book […]

Before I get to The Story, I have to give a ‘thumbs up’ to the movie God’s Not Dead. Go see it this week if you can. There’s a battle raging for the hearts and minds of our kids, especially those in high school and college, and this movie shines the spotlight on the need […]

When Pastor Sean encouraged us this past weekend to see the Christmas story without all the trappings we usually associate with the holiday, I was reminded of a book I read several years ago titled The Real Mary by Scot McKnight. In chapter after chapter McKnight takes a fresh look at this extraordinary woman, debunking […]

Many years ago a friend and I were talking about the book of Nehemiah, and he said the most significant verse from the entire book for him was when Nehemiah told his enemy Sanballat, “I’m doing a great work and I can’t come down!” This, of course, is a paraphrase from Nehemiah 6:3, but I […]

The book of Esther has all the right stuff to be a best seller:  a beautiful protagonist, a strong hero, a vile villain, and enough plot twists to keep us turning the pages! It’s no wonder the Jewish people read the story every year at the celebration of Purim, is it? God’s faithful and timely […]

The book of Haggai is a short two chapters – but wow! It’s like discovering a gold mine! As the remnant of Jews return from exile in Babylon to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, Haggai (“the Lord’s messenger”) is coach, quarterback and cheerleader rolled into one voice – God’s prophetic voice.  He brings challenge, encouragement […]

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, it occurred to me that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego might just be called the “A Team” of the Old Testament. Unlike Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John, who were called “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13), these four were the cream of the crop, the best of […]

What makes us so stubborn, I wonder? Stubborn to the point that we can’t see how pathetically sinful we are? In The Story this week, God is fed up with the mocking and scoffing that’s heaped on his messengers and the atrocious behavior of his people, and he sends Babylon against the Southern Kingdom, Judah. […]