Category: <span>Blog & Bible Study</span>

Jesus told a parable about two builders. One He referred to as foolish because he built his house on sand or with an unstable foundation. Jesus calls the other builder wise because he built his house on the stable foundation of stone. The wisdom or lack of it is not evident during the building of...

For the past three weeks I have been preaching about risk. During this time I have come to a very important conclusion, our level of risk is dependent upon the value that we have put upon the reward. The old saying is that a bird in the hand is worth two in a bush, meaning...

The last sentence of our vision statement at City of Refuge Fellowship reads “Our vision is to take part in the triumph of mercy over judgment and to see the glory of the Lord as it rises upon our city.”   That first line comes from James 2:13, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” I love these few...

Some of our biggest issues in life revolve around expectations and disappointments. Just today I got to see this at work in my house. We have been snowed in twice over the last 6 days, getting somewhere between 3 and 4 feet of snow during that span. Last week we were able to take our...

How many times have you been asked to “prove” something? We have all experienced it, been doubted, been questioned, maybe even been mocked or ridiculed, baited into proving that we are able to do what we are already sure we can and have accomplished in the past. I think of the old game show, “Name...

Boldness is something that I have both lacked and prayed for much of my adult life. I am often confident of what needs to be accomplished but fearful when it comes to my involvement in the process. I know that Scripture teaches us clearly that timidity and fear are not aspects of the “Spirit-filled” life...

As I have been preparing for a new preaching series I have been studying some of Jesus’ actions. In reading about the healings, the feeding of the 5,000, forgiveness of sins and other actions of Christ there has been one statement that has grabbed my attention over and over again, “moved with compassion.” Matthew 14...

My son Noah was part of a saxophone quartet in his school’s Christmas concert two weeks ago. Noah has been playing the saxophone for a little over a year but has taken to it quite quickly. I am very proud of him, he works pretty hard at it but most of all he really enjoys...

The last few weeks I have been constantly taken back to the thought of being chosen. We go through many experiences in our lives in which the choice of someone else seems to determine our next steps. As children we wait to be chosen for teams, for awards, for opportunities and for friendships. As we...

When I was in college my Mom and Dad used to come to some of my baseball games. It does not sound like a big deal when you hear it like that, but the whole story is that it was not surprising to arrive at a Saturday morning game in Pennsylvania or Maryland and see...