I’m not a farmer. Not even close. One time I was speaking to a group of students in rural Florida farming community and mentioned that I saw watermelons being dug up for harvest. The students being students didn’t hold back their snickers and outright laughter. When I later asked someone what had happened in that moment, he patiently explained...

In this passage, Jesus reminds us that God is our Father, not an austere miser in the sky waiting to withhold good things from us. We can trust Him to do right by us and by our earthly treasure because He has stored up myriad eternal treasures for us. In fact, the greatest treasure is the Person speaking to...

We treasure what we love and we love our treasures. When our treasures are proper, this is great. It is right and fitting that we treasure Christ and that we love Him. It is right and fitting that we treasure God’s Word and that we love reading it. It is right and fitting that we treasure the church and...

When we read the way Jesus teaches about prayer in this passage, we might be tempted to picture God a bit like a magical genie. All we have to do is ask, and we’ll be given whatever we want, right? Whatever door we knock on, God will open it, and whatever we seek, it will be given to us....

Have you ever talked to a celebrity? It can be intimidating, can’t it? When I was in college, I attended a movie premier where Baltimore Orioles icon Cal Ripken, Jr. was in attendance. Before the premier began, I saw him standing alone so I mustered the nerve to go up to him to say hello. We ended up chatting...

Jesus is not a salesman trying to make a commission, nor is He a modern-day influencer trying to garner as many followers as possible. Actually, in the passages covered in this week’s session, Jesus seems to be almost trying to deter new followers, refusing to sugarcoat the high cost of following Him by painting the bleakest picture possible. He has no...