The Harvest is Plentiful: a reflection on Matthew 9

The harvest is plentiful:the demon-possessed by the tombs in the Gadarenes,the paralytic lowered through the roof,the tax collector cast-offs like Matthew,the girl who died and her grieving parents,the woman with the twelve-year hemorrhage,the blind men looking for sight,the man with demonically-caused muteness,the crowds listening at the seaside,the unnamed afflicted and sick and hungry... The harvest …

Why Tension is Vital as People of the Kingdom: the mission of the wheat in the weeds

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.’” (Matthew 13:28-30) In His parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus makes it clear that the intermixing …

Prayer as Power for Mission with God (Romans 15:23-33)

This past weekend at Eastbrook Church, I concluded our series "Power in Prayer: Learning to Pray with St. Paul." After looking at Ephesians 3:14-21 on praying our way into God's power and love and Colossians 1:9-14 on how prayer shapes our souls, this weekend I explored Romans 15:23-33 on how prayer connects with our mission …