Christine's Blog (2,610)

It is difficult to navigate his name: E-pa-phro-di-tus . . . and why bother?   It seems as though Paul is just addressing a housekeeping matter--sending him back to the church in Philippi.  The point seems superfluous in this magnificent chapter two of Philippians, so rich with teaching about the body of Christ.  When Paul talks about the importance of humility, saying we ought have the…

Some Philippians thoughts . . . 

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.     Words to live by from…

It was mostly dark, save for a porch light where she stood; it was cold, and most students were sitting on the grass … they did not care, they just wanted to be together.  This was the night Alex was to share her God story, tough as it was, with her peers.  ‘Tough?’  you ask.  Yes, ‘see whether someone grew up bounced in and out of foster…

Paul’s love for Timothy.  Philippians 2.19-24

Have you ever read someone else’s letter?  Of course, you have.  Entire books of letters by noteworthy folks are best-sellers … why?  They give us insight as to the individuals’ thinking and heart.…

Where do people go to wax philosophic these days?  From my days in and  around university coffee shops, I remember them as rich with lively debate—sometimes on important life issues, sometimes over hotly-debated minutia of some academic matter, but always, tables of folks locked in intense discussion.  In the first-century Greek cities to which Paul traveled, it was gymnasiums that drew…

Did you ever have preschoolers who watched Sesame Street?  There were these little dramatic sketches where viewers would be shown a group of four items, one of which was different from the other three, and they would have to identify the item that didn't belong … like here in Philippians 2—which doesn’t belong?  …

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?     (set up for Philippians 2.5-8)

I can see their two beautiful young faces so clearly in my mind . . . one is dark, the other is light; one has a strong football build, the other a tall, lean volleyball build; one has grown up in a Hindu household, the other just a family who didn’t talk too much about God,…

This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.



I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.



May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.



Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.  Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it…

Jesus was all about truth. He said of himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…”1 and “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”2



So, the truth is that Christianity has an image problem. Huh, funny thing, I googled that line, ‘Christianity has an image problem’, and look what came up:



The top of the first article had this picture—from Time Magazine--…

‘In the middle of a messy situation with a church, who represents the church to those who are outside the church.



Church—what is it to you? No, really … stop a moment and think. What is church to you?? We use the word ‘church’ to describe several different things: There is church, referring to a building; church, meaning worship service—i.e., Did you go to church this morning? From the insiders’…

POWER in Prayer.  breakthrough prayer.

‘But it feels like my prayers just hit the ceiling … I wonder if God even hears me.  Of course, maybe I am not praying in the right way—not really sure. Hey, is there a right way to pray?  Is there something I am…

“Can you teach us how to grow in our faith?”

Every once in a while a teacher is asked a question that makes her every fiber pop … this was just such a question.  Hmmm . . .  Similarly, I imagine Jesus smiled when the…

Youcef is the pastor of a house church in Rasht, Iran, and was arrested in October 2009 for opposing the education practice that forces non-Muslim students to read the Quran in school. Youcef had argued that the Iranian constitution permits…