Aaron, Aaron

A SAD EPILOGUE

Last week we put out a blog explaining this word I used as a sermon title, but never explained: Nehushtan. Nehushtan means Bronze Serpent (the Great Brass); it is what the Israelites called the bronze serpent on the pole that Jesus references in John 3:14-15 that...

Aaron, Aaron

Nehushtan

If I asked you what the most well-known verse in the bible is, what would you say? Today, in our culture, it may be “judge not,…” but I would say the most well-known (if not cited in its entirety) is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only...

Aaron, Aaron

TOUGHSKINS (TM)

When I was a kid, there was one thing you had to have in order to be accepted by all the other kids…the right clothes. I don’t know whoever thought up the stupid ritual where kids gravitate toward fashion (while having no fashion sense) and then judge others based...

Elders, Jonathan Whitaker

MIRAGE OR OASIS

I can confidently say that Bugs Bunny cartoons did not adequately prepare me for my deployment to the Middle East.  According to Looney Toons, the most reliable feature of any desert is the presence of a mirage followed closely by an abundance of magic lamps.  The...

Aaron, Aaron

Q&A 64,000 MISSING WORDS

Question:There was a recent Facebook post I was sent regarding the removal of (45) biblical texts from the NIV (New International Version) and the ESV (English Standard Version) translations of the Bible (and also 64,000 changed or missing words). I am not usually...

Elders, Elders

PRAYER POINTS

When the world seems to be melting down, it is often hard to focus our thoughts in prayer. Knowing that to be the case, we would like to offer the following points to consider in your time of prayer. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you...

Aaron, Aaron

TSELEM

You know how the kids these days say TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)? This one is SL;KR (super long; keep reading) as I want to address recent events in our nation and give us some biblical context for our own personal call to image Jesus.  The Bible was not written...

Aaron, Aaron

GOSPEL PRESENT

I am sitting in a hotel next to the Sea of Galilee in Israel as I write this short blog. Because of the time difference I tend to wake up at 3am every morning right now and today is no exception. It is interesting that I am here in Israel because, while I love the...