Freedom From Myself (May Verse—Philippians 2:12-18)

“Have you ever pondered the incredible delight of a negative freedom—not a license to do something, but a freedom from something?” This is a question Dennis Kinlaw poses at the start of ...

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Christ Hymn (April Verse—Philippians 2:5-11)

Do you remember doing tangram puzzles when you were in school? I always thought they were a lot of fun, and Charleston shares my enthusiasm. With his strong logical/spatial skills, he tends ...

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Saying Goodbye to Self (March Verse—Philippians 2:1-4)

You *might* have noticed that the current state of affairs in the American Church is. . . not so great (#understatement). I am blessed to be somewhat shielded from the all the ...

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Redeemer, God of Truth (February Verse—Psalm 31:1-5)

Memorizing my monthly verses along with Charleston this year (something I shared about in this post) has been such a blessing. This spiritual practice of Scripture memory has always been deeply impactful ...

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Stumbling Backwards (January Verse—Hebrews 10:19-25)

The uncertainty of the past few years has provided copious evidence for the futility in making New Year’s predictions. In his reflections on the start of another new year, author Tim Challies ...

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Our Rock (Sermon on the Mount, Part 12)

I grew up singing “The Wise Man Built Himself Upon a Rock” in Sunday School. At two and three and four years old, I spent Sunday mornings gathered with a handful of ...

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Where Your Treasure Is (Sermon on the Mount, Part 8)

We were driving home from a week in California this past Wednesday, cruising down a long stretch of highway through the Arizona desert, big rigs surrounding us on three sides. We’d been ...

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And When You Pray (Sermon on the Mount, Part 7)

We had an awkward family moment recently, one of those moments that not only exposed a “growth opportunity” for my child but also a glaring shortcoming of my own. Allow me to ...

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Clearing Things Up (Sermon on the Mount, Part Five)

My peers and I are in a season of heavy, explicit instruction with our children. Sometimes this instruction can go hilariously wrong, as was the case recently with a friend of mine ...

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A New Bar (Sermon on the Mount, Part Four)

Do you remember in school when a test or project would get graded on a curve? Instead of assigning each student the grade they earned, the “perfect” score would be adjusted from ...

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