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The Camel, the Needle, and the Heart Transplant:What Matthew 19:16–26 Is Really Telling Us
When we read Jesus’ interaction with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16–26, it is easy to focus on the surface level. On the surface, it is about money. And it is. The bottom line is simple: if you love money more than Jesus, it is impossible for you to enter into heaven. Let us dispel a common myth about this text right now. You may have heard that "the eye of a needle" was actually a tiny gate in the Jerusalem wall, and a camel could squeeze through if it shed its load a
Teresa Hajdu
Oct 23 min read
“Who’s This Story About?”
September Newsletter The very familiar parable Jesus told in Luke 15 about a father and his two sons has been referred to in different ways. Most often, this is called the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” Less often, it’s called the “Parable of the Forgiving Father.” I don’t know that I’ve ever heard it referred to as the “Parable of the Older Brother.” Or even more, the “Parable of the Resentful and Jealous Brother Who Couldn’t Be Happy that His Brother Who Was Lost Was Now Fo
Teresa Hajdu
Sep 233 min read
"Who Do You Say That I Am?
August Newsletter It is the defining question of human existence, posed by Jesus to His disciples along the dusty roads of Caesarea Philippi: "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Pastor Vincent Putnam- Jesus did not ask this because He suffered an identity crisis, nor was He conducting a first-century opinion poll. He brought His followers to a crossroads where polite speculation had to end. Up to that point, the crowds viewed Jesus as a noble figure, a resurrecte
wputnam5
Aug 63 min read
Power, Authority, and the Book of Life: A Reflection on Luke 10:8–20
JULY NEWSLETTER LEAD ARTICLE In Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place He intends to visit. He gives them a specific mandate: heal the sick and declare, "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9). When the disciples return, they are ecstatic. They exclaim, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!" (v. 17). Jesus responds with a breathtaking cosmic reality check: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from he
Rev. Vince Putnam
Jul 83 min read
The Faith That Wouldn’t Give Up: Lessons from a "Harsh" Encounter: Matthew 15:22–28
JUNE NEWSLETTER LEAD ARTICLE It is one of the most jarring accounts in the New Testament. A Canaanite woman who was a foreigner, an outsider, approaches Jesus and cries out for her demon possessed daughter. Her grief is palpable, her desperation undeniable. And Jesus ignores her. Matthew writes, “But He did not answer her a word.” When she keeps crying out, the disciples grow annoyed and urge Jesus, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” They could have gone to Jesu
Rev. Vince Putnam
Jun 233 min read
One Minute Meditation | Mon, June 16
READ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 16, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Sun, June 15
READ He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 15, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Sat, June 14
READ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). We...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 14, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Fri, June 13
READ When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 13, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Thurs, June 12
READ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). The maps we find on our phones have made travel much easier....
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 12, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Wed, June 11
READ So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 11, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Tues, June 10
READ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 10, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Mon, June 9
READ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 9, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Sun, June 8
READ If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Jesus tells us to take up...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 8, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Sat, June 7
READ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). Mark tell us “When (Jesus) saw the crowds,...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 7, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Fri, June 6
READ To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 6, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Thurs, June 5
READ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 5, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Wed, June 4
READ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 3, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Tues, June 3
READ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 2, 20251 min read
One Minute Meditation | Mon, June 2
READ Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). We live in a...
Rev. Randy Raasch
Jun 1, 20251 min read
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