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The statement “God is our Father” means that God is like a  human father. In other words, God is analogous to a father. In  some ways he is like a human father, and in others he is not.  There are genuine points of similarity as well as genuine points  of dissimilarity. Like all... Read More →

During the time of Christmas, we hear a lot on the television about what we will eat and what presents we will give and receive. However, what often seems lost in the Christmas preparation is Christ. Let’s not miss out on the greatest gift we can ever receive this Christmas – new... Read More →

Once while hiking in the “Stara Planina” I missed a turn on the path and, in the end, had to go back and hike an extra five kilometers to get back on the right track.  Often in life we cause ourselves a lot of trouble and heartache because we miss the path the God has laid out... Read More →

When God spoke to his people the first time, a thunderstorm erupted. We can’t expect that every Sunday, so perhaps we have to look within. How eager are we to hear God speak? to listen and obey? In this sermon we find not only thunder and lightning but also a prepared, excited,... Read More →

Тhe final sentence of the Lord’s Prayer—“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13 KJV)—is not in the earliest copies of the Gospel of Matthew. The phrase was likely added by early Christians as the prayer began to be used in public... Read More →

The next two phrases in the Lord’s Prayer fit together: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). The word temptation can mean to entice to do wrong, but it can also mean to put to the test. The same experience can be both a temptation to do... Read More →

The fifth request in the Lord’s Prayer is for forgiveness. Jesus knew that we would stand in need of forgiveness every day. And so we pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Read More →

The first three requests in the Lord’s Prayer focus on the Father— his name, his reign, his will. Most of our prayers start in the middle of this prayer—with our own needs. Jesus doesn’t ignore our needs. He just puts them in the right priority. So we turn to the request, “Give... Read More →

We think of earthly kingdoms in terms of territory—an empire. In the New Testament the kingdom of God is not territory. The term is used to describe the reign of God. God’s kingdom today extends over the hearts of all who will acknowledge him as king and who will submit to his... Read More →

What we have come to call the Lord’s Prayer was spoken in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount—a long talk Jesus gave about how to live distinctively as a Christian in an evil world. Jesus gave the prayer to his followers in the context of some very practical words on when... Read More →