Posts with the category “living-lessons”

Luke 17:7-10A few years after we were married, Dena and I discovered that one of our favorite pizza places held a regular trivia night. We had only one kiddo at the time and family babysitters close at hand, so we decided to make trivia night a standing date — just the two of us, a pizza, and a growing group of friends and strangers. The rules were simple: Every team had a clever name. No one was ...  Read More

Another classic parable. The story of the prodigal son is sometimes referred to as the 'lost son' as it follows the parables of the 'lost coin' and the legendary story of the 'lost sheep'. There are some common home runs in this story that I have heard over the years. There is the beauty of the loving Father who accepts all who return; teaching us that God will always welcome us if we 'stray away'.  Read More

“Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fas...  Read More

Have you ever wondered what makes someone do something or what their reasoning is behind their actions?In Luke 12:13-21 we find a situation where someone puts Jesus on the spot and asks him to do something that would be of benefit to them; “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me (Luke 12:13, ESV).” Jesus’ response is confrontational, as he asks this person who had decided that ...  Read More

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  Luke 10:29 ESVJesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw...  Read More

When I was 11 years old, one Saturday night a group of older guys from my church took me and a few of my friends into the city to see a Motocross race. Motocross is a sport where a group of people on dirt bikes (motorcycles) line up in a row, and they race through a course filled with twists, and turns, and huge jumps through the air. I had never been to an event like that before, and I loved dirt...  Read More

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him,...  Read More

If you haven’t read this story in a while, it is probably time to do it again.“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps[a] and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all ...  Read More

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the...  Read More

A few weeks ago I was able to visit Chicago with a group of friends.  While we were there, something happened that really got under my skin. We needed to park our car for three days while we traversed Chicago by foot.  To my luck. across the street from our hotel, was the Hancock building. This was good, because in the bottom of the Hancock building there is great parking. After checking the price...  Read More

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ...  Read More