Asbury Church

In 1 Samuel 1 we meet one of the very few wholly positive characters in the Bible: Hannah, the mother of Samuel.Hannah is a model for the spiritual life. She brings her pain and sorrow to God, and then, when she receives the gift she has been desperately praying for, she puts that gift in God’s hands.

As a boy, I thought of Samson as a biblical He-Man. But when I went back and read the Samson account (Judges 13-16) as an adult, I realized what a complete disaster his life is. The tragedy is that the Lord gives him a purpose, and Samson just wastes his life and strength.The Lord has given us a purpose, too, and for us to be faithful to it, we will need to raise up pastors to lead us on.It’s like that jungle man and the spider monkey….

Last week I went to Washington, D.C., to participate in a public reading of scripture. I was assigned what I think is the hardest passage in the entire Bible: Ezra chapters 1-3, and especially chapter 2!Sure, Ezra chapter 2 is no one’s favorite passage and it doesn’t appear on any bumper stickers or license plates.But, I’ve come to believe that what at first seems like the most boring passage of scripture is actually really beautiful and encouraging.

One of the wildest parables Jesus tells involves a dishonest manager who is *praised* for his dishonesty!The point of the parable: God’s people need to be more streetsmart, but not according to the world’s values, but streetsmart according to the values of the kingdom.It’s almost as if Jesus is saying, “You folks need to think like a kingdom mafia.”

There’s this great encounter we read about in Joshua chapter 5:Joshua is about to lead the people into battle when he sees a strange figure with a drawn sword.Joshua asks “Are you on our side, or on the side of our adversaries?”The strange man’s response: “No.”The question, it seems, is not “Is God on our side?”The better question is, “Am I on God’s side?”

Why does the resurrected Jesus have scars?The answer: because the scars are part of his glory!The scars tell us that God is working all things together for the good of those who love him.Life has many hard, difficult moments, but the scars are proof that if God can use something as evil as the Crucifixion as part of the glory of the Resurrection, there is nothing and no situation that is without hope.

Jesus fulfilled the ancient prophecy of a victorious and humble king, but he did so in a way no one expected. We often want Jesus to push our agendas, stand for our causes, and represent our values. We want Jesus to be like us, but he wants us to become like him. Salvation means becoming more like Jesus.

Deuteronomy is Moses’s farewell speech. The Israelites are gathered on Mount Nebo, ready to go into the Promised Land, and Moses tells them what they need to do to live well in the land:Listen.

In Numbers 13, the Lord guides the Israelites to the edge of the Promised Land and sends twelve spies to explore the land He has promised to give them. When they return, ten of the spies focus on the challenges, the size of the cities, and the strength of the people. This causes fear to quickly spread through the camp. Only Caleb and Joshua trust that if God has promised the land, He will also give them victory. Instead of choosing to move forward in faith, the people let fear take over and refused to enter, missing out on the blessings God had prepared for them. This scripture challenges us to reflect: Could it be that sometimes we miss out on God's blessings or promises not because He is unwilling to give them, but because we find it hard to trust Him enough to step forward in faith? Where do you need to trust God today?

I believe we are living in the end times. We have been since the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection.What does this mean? What do we need to do?In light of the fact that we are living in the end times, Jesus gave us a two-word command:“Stay awake!”

Leviticus is about the sacrificial system, which is why what happens on the Day of Atonement is so striking—the culminating event on the Day of Atonement isn’t a sacrifice, but a scapegoat.On the Day of Atonement, the goat that bears Israel’s sins is sent away alive.This is the concept of the so-called “scapegoat”—the idea that one bears the sins of the many.

Any modern person who has started to read Leviticus immediately wonders,“What’s with all the blood?”The sacrificial system is strange… and beautiful, once you understand it.See, in the Bible, the sacrificial system was meant to teach Israel what it would take to come back into the presence and life of God.The answer? A blameless representative who would die on behalf of sinful people.

“Ministry” is not something that just pastors or church musicians do.Ministry is for all Christians.The first person in the Bible said to be filled with the Spirit of God is not Abraham or Moses—it’s a man named Bezalel.And in Exodus 31 we read that Bezalel is a craftsman! That is, the Holy Spirit gives him the ability to make things. It’s the spiritual gift of carpentry, you might say.Now, because of the work of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the church. Which means every Christian has been gifted for ministry by the Holy Spirit.This means that ministry is not something specialized or “over there.” Your life is your ministry.How you live your life *is* the way you serve God.

Over and over again throughout the Bible, the same pattern occurs:The Lord offers Eden, people rebel and live in Exile, but the Lord continues to offer Eternal Life to those who trust him.Once you see the pattern, you see it everywhere.

The final section of Genesis (chapters 37-50) tells one of the most intricately-crafted, moving, and mysterious stories in the entire Bible—the account Joseph and his brothers.In the second to last paragraph of the entire book, Joseph says something remarkable.His brothers—who sold him into slavery years before—are worried that he will seek revenge.But Joseph says, “What you meant for evil, God intended for good.”And then Genesis ends.In some ways, that statement from Joseph sums up the entire rest of the biblical story.

The Bible is difficult.If you have ever read the Bible, you’ve encountered something puzzling or off-putting or mysterious.Why isn’t the Bible easier? Why is the Bible so hard to understand?The disciples actually put this question to Jesus.His answer: God is trying to get our attention.Do you have eyes and ears? Use them.

Even if you’ve never read the Bible, you probably are familiar with its first verse:“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”The problem with that verse is that…it’s *too* familiar. That is, we take it for granted.But what if we didn’t have it? What If You Didn’t Know Genesis 1 Existed?What If There No Creator?What If Those Pages Were Ripped Out?

What is the point of reading the Bible? What does it *do* for us?According to the Apostle Paul, the Bible makes us wise in a particularly important way: It teaches us of the inevitability of our deaths and the reality that Jesus saves.Paul calls this being "wise for salvation”.What could be more important than growing wise with regard to the most important facts of human existence, namely death and life?What else could possibly be worth spending our time on this year?

It’s so easy to be a conduit for negativity to spread. To encounter frustration or anxiety or hatred and anger, and then to spread it further.What’s so moving about the account of Joseph, when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, is what he does NOT do.He doesn’t make things worse. Rather, he just quietly makes his decision, and that action allows God to continue to work.In other words, Joseph acts like a spiritual firebreak.We could use more of that kind of thing these days.

"Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Four Years Ago?”That’s the question politicians like to ask us.But, when’s the last time you put that question to yourself, spiritually?As we see with Zechariah’s unbelief in Luke chapter 1, God has more for everyone, even good, moral people.

The Tenth Commandment is against “coveting.”That’s an old-fashioned concept that no one really seems to talk about any more.Which is a shame, because coveting is a sure way to be unhappy.This is because coveting is wanting something that isn’t yours to have.Including someone else’s life. And wanting something that isn't yours to have is a sure way to be miserable.It’s like when Peter asked Jesus what the future held for the Apostle John.Jesus’s response? “What’s that to you, Peter?”It’s the same for us—we are constantly allowing ourselves to covet things that aren’t ours: other people’s lives or bodies or families or bank accounts.The only solution to this is gratitude.

How do you respond when the Holy Spirit prompts you to act, especially when the request feels unusual or unexpected? Do you obey? Do you hesitate? Do you try to reason your way out of it? What if God is calling you to take the first step in love toward someone who isn’t like you, someone who may disagree with you, avoid you, or even hate you? When we realize obedience to the Lord is not ultimately about us, we open the door to unexpected and extraordinary opportunities. We never know what hangs in the balance, are you ready? 

The question I get the most whenever I talk about Love Goes First is this:What about when I go first and it doesn’t seem to make any difference?I love this question, because it means folks are actually putting these ideas into practice.The interaction of Jesus and the rich young ruler gives us an answer.Jesus loves the young man by telling him something he doesn’t want to hear.The result? The man walks away.And Jesus lets him go.There is a lesson there for us.

The only way we are going to reach the people that don’t think like us, vote like us, agree with us—maybe even hate us—is to go first toward.There is no other way.The problem is that going first comes with a cost.We can’t say that Jesus didn’t warn us.

How are we going to reach the people who don’t vote like us, think like us, agree with, maybe even hate us?The first step, surely, is to actually *see* them.Many people go a long time without ever truly being seen.Take Zacchaeus, for example: a radical change in his life starts when Jesus stops and sees him.

That’s what my mom used to say to me and my brothers when we were little boys and would complain about the snakes around our African house.I still don’t think she was right about the cobras we complained about. But with regard to other people: she’s dead on.Other people really are more scared of you than you are of them.In a world in which everyone is waiting to react to everyone else, the one who chooses to go first and act will fundamentally change the status quo and thereby open up new possibilities to walk into.In the episode with Jesus and the woman at the well, it starts with just a simple (and shocking) question:“Can I have a drink of water?”

One of the most overlooked aspects of Jesus’s ministry is how often he found himself in conflict—and with whom. Often it was not those who he was trying to reach, but members of his own tribe. If we're to reach across divides and love those who aren’t like us, we must accept and embody a particular trait of Jesus: the willingness to be misunderstood by our own side. If we choose not to, it will be our biggest barrier—and drive us deeper into division. 

We live in the most scientific and technologically advanced society in history.And people are more imprisoned by their feelings than ever.Isn’t that strange?The political commentator Ben Shapiro is known for his catchphrase:"Facts don’t care about your feelings."That is 100% true...and these days 100% irrelevant.Many people claim that what’s true is whatever they *feel* to be true.How do we move forward?We start by looking at the interaction between Jesus and Pontius Pilate, and by examining the places our own feelings are getting in the way of the fact of the gospel.

There are three dead ends facing the church in our time.We could accommodate, let go of anything the culture finds offensive.We could double-down and shout judgement more shrilly.We could withdraw and try to remain pure and unpolluted by the world.But those three options are all dead ends for the church.There is only way forward.In week 02 of our “Love Goes First” series, we are asking, “How should the church proceed in our time, in this culture?”Our answer: to GO.

“What do we do now?”There is lots of talk about division and polarization these days, but what should we actually *do* about it?In a nation of 340 million people there are millions of people who don’t think like you, vote like you, look like you, maybe even people who hate you.For the church, reaching others is not an option: it is a command from Jesus.How are we going to reach the people that hate us?This is the question we will be answering in our “Love Goes First” sermon series, and it’s the reason that I wrote my new book “Love Goes First.”In week 01, we are just getting the lay of the land.It’s not 1955 or 1995 or even 2005 any more.America has changed, and if we are going to reach others, we have to understand those changes.Welcome to Negative World.

What if there were no more mercy? What if the Lord just turned off the tap that allows mercy to flow so that there were no mercy for *anyone*?In our series on Jonah, we’ve come to the last chapter, one of the most explosive and unsettling chapters in the entire Bible.In Jonah chapter 4, Jonah is so angry he would rather die than live.Why?Because he hates God for being a God of mercy. The Lord has chosen to forgive the wicked people of Nineveh, and that makes Jonah sick.I can identify with Jonah—I have a hard time with the idea of God showing mercy to people who are wrong.And yet, that’s not how it works. It’s either all, or nothing. That is, either the Lord gives mercy to everyone, or no one. He’s God, and I’m not, and he can show mercy to whomever he wills.What if there were no more mercy for *anyone*?What if we lived in a world in which there were never any forgiveness, never any chance to start over?When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we confess that there is a mysterious connection between our willingness to extend mercy to our enemies, and our own reception of mercy from God.“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”This is a hard truth. Let’s talk about it.

What If The Best Way to Defeat Your Enemies Is to Convert Them?God’s mission is this: to go to the greatest possible lengths, not to defeat his enemies–but to convert them.In Jonah chapter 3, for example, we see that Jonah is sent to Nineveh on a mission from God. Why God wants to save the people of Nineveh.In our day, the mission hasn’t changed—we are to pray and fight for the conversion of our enemies. God is sending us.The assassination of Charlie Kirk this past week should make it clear that evil is real and that there are people who wish us harm.The people cheering on a murder and then brazenly posting videos of their celebrations—these are people who need to know the Good News of Jesus.How will they hear it if we don’t tell them?The same Lord who sent Jonah is sending us. It will take everything we are and everything we have—it is literally the most important thing in the world—to reach the world for Christ.We have enemies, yes. But the way of Jesus is not for us to seek to kill our enemies, but to be willing to die to convert them.What Charlie Kirk’s murder has done is opened up a door into enemy territory, and we must be bold to walk right through it with the message of Jesus.Are you in?

The only thing worse than being caughtis NOT being caught.Here’s what I mean by that:As painful as it can be to be caught and confronted when we are doing something wrong, nevertheless being caught gives us the opportunity to repent and change direction.Otherwise, we might continue in sin until it’s too late to turn back.This is what we see in Jonah chapter 2. Jonah has been publicly identified as running away from the Lord, and the sailors throw him overboard.Then comes the famous three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.What that ordeal enables Jonah is an opportunity to repent.(We shall see whether he avails himself of that opportunity or not.)It’s the same with us—being caught in our sins can become a good thing, if we take the opportunity given to us by the grace of God to actually change direction.

There is a Latin phrase that I like: “Esse quam videri.”Which means, “To be, rather than to seem.”In other words, it is about what’s really true and not what we pretend to be true.The little book of Jonah is a profoundly unsettling story, and one of the things it does is show us the gap between who Jonah says he is and who he actually is.It turns out that Jonah, despite what he says, is very far from being a God-fearing prophet.Reading through the book of Jonah will cause us to examine our own lives."Where is the gap between who I really am and who I pretend to be?”

Are you on the Standard Plan or the Sunday Plus Plan?In our final installment of the What I Learned on Summer Vacation sermon series, we looked at a basic principle Jesus teaches the disciples:In the Kingdom of God, if you lean in you get more.This is a secret that all-too-few Christians know; it’s a life hack that will change your life

It’s one of the saddest things I can think of:What if God were ready to bless but we weren’t ready to receive?In this latest installment of our series What I Learned on Summer Vacation, we talked about the urgency of preparation.I love what the Apostle Peter told the early church:Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.“Preparing your minds for action….”What a great exhortation.This past Sunday, I talked about some really big things we have coming up, and what it will take for us to be prepared for God to use these things and do something great.

Ever seen that bumper sticker, “God is my co-pilot”?Heard that song, “Jesus, take the wheel”?I totally get the sentiments behind that kind of thing, but over the summer I’ve been really troubled by the underlying, unspoken ideas that go along with those sorts of sayings and sentiments.The reason why is because the Bible teaches that God created humanity to represent him and rule over the non-human creation. God’s desire is not to control us, but to save us and shape us so we can join the divine mission.

Every year, I come back from summer vacation with lots of things on my mind to share with Asbury.This year, it’s one simple verb that has really got me thinking: the verb “learned.”As in “I learned to be content” (Philippians 4:11).Here’s why that word means so much to me.

There is something beautiful about the sweetness and simplicity of a child's prayer as they go to their Heavenly Father.Jesus emphasized the importance of childlike faith by taking the time to help His followers understand it. In doing so, a few traits stand out: humility, humbleness, and simplicity. Yet, there is also a persistent quality that seems relentless. Have you stopped praying because you have yet to see God move? Have you distanced yourself from God because your prayer was not answered?Could it be that Jesus wants us to approach the Lord with a child's perspective to better understand His goodness, faithfulness, and the complexity of prayer?

Acts 4:23-31 is a remarkable prayer! Peter and John have just spent the night in prison after healing a man and proclaiming the good news of Jesus. Rather than praying for protection, they ask the Lord to give them the ability to "continue to speak your word with all boldness."They could have focused intently on their challenging circumstances.Instead, they turned their attention outward to the mission of God and asked for strength to keep going.This simple shift in perspective can bring deep and lasting change to your life.

If the answer to every prayer were an immediate “Yes!” then prayer would be easy.Prayer warriors are forged in the furnace of adversity, grit, determination, and perseverance.Like most things that matter in life, prayer takes work.Breakthrough is possible.And so, keep going. One day at a time.

Have you ever realized that children are our reinforcements? Building up and building for the next generation is the best way to push back against the darkness, to really make a difference. Hence: "family is how we fight.” But, it’s not easy. Even to talk about it makes a lot of us uncomfortable. On Father's Day 2025, we dived right into the discomfort and the controversies. Yes, this stuff is hard, but it’s also good!

I believe that the Gospel of John is one of the greatest works of art in all human history. Its first twenty chapters are a masterpiece. And the conclusion that John gives us at the end of chapter twenty—after the resurrection, the greatest thing that has ever happened—after Jesus calls Mary by name, and she turns and knows—after Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on the disciples—after Jesus shows Thomas His scarred hands and side—the conclusion that John gives us after all of that is just perfect:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name [John 20:30–31].The screen finally fades fully to black. We finally exhale, deeply moved. We shift in our seats, slowly stand and stretch, and silently begin to make our way out of the theater. We don’t want to say anything and ruin the moment, so we walk single file down the stairs at the end of the row. The credits begin to roll.And then, when we least expect it, the screen lights up again and the story continues!John chapter 20 seems to end on the perfect note, but John is a peerless artist and what happens next is beyond perfection.There is another chapter—an epilogue.With John 20:30–31, nothing more needs to be said about Jesus. His story is complete, and we have all we need to know to believe in Him.But John knows there is more to be said about the church and its mission, and that is the purpose of his beautiful epilogue in chapter 21.

In John 18, we see something extraordinary happen: an entire cohort of Roman soldiers knocked flat by the power of Jesus!The disciples are afraid, but Jesus has everything under control.There is a lesson there for all of us.

My favorite Bible verse is John 16:33.It’s Thursday evening. Jesus has gathered the disciples in the Upper Room for his final moments with them before his betrayal by Judas later that night and his crucifixion the next day.He sums up his teaching to them with what I believe is essentially the perfect Bible verse:“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have *overcome* the world.”In other words:1. Things will be hard.2. But don’t worry, Jesus wins.And maybe my favorite part of this verse: the Greek verb translated in v. 33 as “overcome” is the verb nike, from which the shoe company got its name. Every time you see a pair of Nikes, therefore, you should remember this verse!

In John 17, Jesus gives us insight into the heart of reality and tells us something important about God.The reason this matters is because the most important thing in our minds is our idea of God.

Did you ever play the telephone game when you were in school?In the game of telephone, the teacher whispers something in a student’s ear, who then passes on the message to another student, who then passes on the message to the next student, etc. The last student repeats the message out loud. Hilarity ensues—the final message is always wildly divergent from the original.I was thinking of the telephone game when I read through John 15–Jesus’s famous words: “I am the vine, you are the branches.”We have developed this idea in American Christianity that a Christian is just someone who one time prayed a certain prayer. But when you compare this idea with what Jesus says in John 15, it seems totally crazy!According to Jesus, either you are abiding in him, or you aren’t—there is no middle ground.

As he begins the last week of his life before the crucifixion, Jesus shares a very simple principle: life comes through death."Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”--John 12:24-25What needs to die in your life for God to bring new life in its place?

In John chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, but before he does so he famously weeps over Lazarus’s death.Why?Wouldn’t it make more sense for Jesus to say, “Hey everybody, stop crying and watch what I’m about to do!”?Why does Jesus weep?This Easter we looked at the miracle of the raising of Lazarus and what that miracle tells us about the greater miracle of the Resurrection.

This past Sunday we looked at the decision of the Jewish leadership to have Jesus murdered. It’s not that they miss what he’s doing; rather, they know he is performing “signs” and yet they still decide to reject him. Caiaphas the high priest explicitly states that it is expedient to have one man die so that the Romans will leave the Jews alone. It turns out there is something worse that being spiritually blind—it’s to see what God is doing and hate it. Here’s how not to be like Caiaphas.