| Retrieving the Great Tradition | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Sacred Roots | |
| We are characters in God’s high drama where the high magic and deep mystery of God’s working in Christ touches us in our homes, in our families, and in our lives. We are believers in Christ, heirs to the Kingdom of God, to hold to Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord is to believe what I take to be one of the fundamental principles of all hero stories and fairy tales. Nothing in this world truly is, as it on the surface appears to be. |
| | | |
| James 3 | The Wisdom of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Only as we bridle our tongues through the Spirit’s power and yield to the humble, gracious, and pure wisdom from above can we overcome the onslaught of jealousy and selfish ambition from below. Let us, then, during this week of our remembrance and reflection during this Season after Pentecost submit to the meekness of Christ and receive the wisdom from God, the kind which comes to those who yield to his Spirit and his Word. |
| | | |
| Learning, Loving, and Living the Story of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Sacred Roots | |
| The only answer is to rediscover the Story of God in Christ, to love it with all our hearts, and live it out with honor and joy in the presence of our neighbors, inviting them to see things, as it were, from the vantage point of the Storytelling God. |
| | | |
| James 2 | A Living Faith | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| There exists no contradiction between Paul’s and James’s view of faith. The same faith that saves by grace alone is the faith that expresses itself in authentic works that give evidence of its truth. As those who cling to the Nazarene by faith, we rejoice in the opportunity to demonstrate in our words and actions our allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom. Truly, it is our delight to act and live in a manner that corresponds to our affirmation of Jesus as Lord of the living and dead. Let us embrace a working, living faith during this Season after Pentecost, and give witness to our devotion and allegiance to him who lives in us by the Spirit. |
| | | |
| James 1 | The Testing of Your Faith | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| As warriors and soldiers of Jesus Christ, we are called to battle, to conflict, to struggle. It is our high honor and privilege to resist the world, the flesh, and the devil, to rejoice in trial, and to resist evil’s advance and interference. Let us never blame God for sinful temptations, which are animated internally due to our own lust and weakness. Let us rely on the Lord, as our strength and help, depending on his wisdom and Word to help us stand in the evil hour. As we live for Christ during this Season after Pentecost, let us depend on the Spirit for grace and help in our time of need. |
| | | |
| Theological Diversity | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Missionary Training | |
|
| | | |
| Sound Ecclesiology | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Missionary Training | |
| Many questions are brewing about the church and its place in spirituality and mission. Can one be saved apart from the church? Is it possible to be in a right relationship with God and his people and yet not be a part of a local assembly of Christians? Is faith in the local church a 'misplaced hope?' |
| | | |
| Luke 5:1-11 | Sons of Thunder: John | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| As we enter into our Season after Pentecost, let us emulate the good and gracious witness of John the Apostle, who bore witness to the Lord’s incarnation, passion, and resurrection, who declared with boldness and power the reality of God’s love in Christ. In humility and joy, let us emulate the faithful witness of him who gave testimony to Christ in Gospel, in Epistle, and in Apocalypse. May our witness, like the apostles, bear fruit to the glory of our great God and Father, through Christ our Lord. |
| | | |
| Galatians 1:1 | Missionary Calling | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Missionary Training | |
| What is the nature of an authentic missionary call? What is the relationship between the nature of apostleship and the missionary call today? What are some biblical examples of those who received an authentic missionary call from the Lord? What are the critical implications which flow from a solid understanding of an authentic missionary call? |
| | | |
| Matthew 4:21-22 | Sons of Thunder: Names of James in the NT | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Without question, the Jameses in the Bible are all powerful, apostolic leaders, capable for the Lord, and suffering for him with zeal and discipleship. Even those whom we know little about are in the apostolic company, from James, John’s brother, to James the son of Alphaeus. James the Lord’s brother, and the brother of Jude (who wrote the epistle) was a deeply spiritual leader of true faith and zealous piety. As we enter into the general epistles during this Season After Pentecost, let us be mindful of the lives of the men who wrote these epistles, and the challenge they can offer us as we journey with one another in the Way of Christ. May Christ enable us to glorify God as we apply the Story to our lives. |
| | | |
| Isaiah 6:1-8 | Seeing the King, the LORD of Hosts | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Trinity Sunday | |
| During this week as we celebrate our triune God, let us affirm wholeheartedly the awesome glory and splendor of our great God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday allows us to willingly and joyfully embrace the mystery that is our God, the one who is so above his creation, and yet, the same One who promised that if we draw near to him he would draw near to us. Through the purposeful love of the Father, the humble grace of the Son, and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit, we can enter into God’s presence, receive the vision and the cleansing, and be prepared for the work. All this week let us meditate on the glory of our great God and Creator who redeems and restores us for his own glory. |
| | | |
| Acts 2:1-21 | A Mighty Rushing Wind | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Pentecost | |
| On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended to earth and filled the first company of disciples gathered in Jerusalem ten days after the Lord ascended to the Father. Since that very day, the Kingdom pledge has come into the midst of God’s people, and the life of the Age to come is not present and available to those who believe. While the full display and consummation of God’s plan awaits the Second Coming of Christ, the very person of God now indwells each individual believer, and the signs and wonders of the Kingdom are now present in the Church. Let us who believe in Christ, welcome into our midst the Holy Spirit of God, in order that his presence and power might be manifested among us, and through us, to the glory of God where we are! |
| | | |
| 1John 5:9-13 | That You May Know | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| As deception from the enemy and unbelief in the testimony of God caused the first human pair to fall into sin and disgrace, so now trust in the word of his messengers and faith in the testimony of God is the way to life. Through faith in God’s testimony regarding Jesus of Nazareth, we come to know who he is and what God offers in him. Truly, according to the testimony of God, whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Let us, at this close of Eastertide, therefore, cling in faith to the sure word of promise from the Father, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, and we who believe have life in his name–forever! |
| | | |
| John 15:9-17 | Friendship with God and Christ | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| Truly, the ultimate sacrifice that we can do for one another is to give up our lives for one another, to die for one another. This amazing action gives clearest demonstration as to what kind of love is present the one for the other–dying for your friends, laying down your life on behalf of your friends. This is precisely the kind of selfless sacrifice that Jesus made on behalf of those for whom he died. In the spirit of that love, Jesus commands us to love one another, just as he has loved us. By doing so we abide in his love, and share in the wondrous love of both the Father and the Son. During this Eastertide, therefore, let us emulate this deep, deep love of the Savior, loving God because he first loved us, and laying down our lives, practically and concretely, in service to each other, in Jesus’ name. |
| | | |
| John 15:1-8 | The True Vine, Our Life | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| Without faith in the risen Christ, without his Word remaining in us, without remaining in him moment by moment, no fruit can be borne in the Christian life. Jesus is not merely our Savior, he is our salvation, too. He is not only our Lord, he is also our life. No amount of fleshly effort, however sincere and creative, cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. Only if we abide in him, and he in us, can we bear fruit that glorifies God, our father. During this Eastertide, therefore, let us simply and boldly direct our attention and focus to remaining in Christ, in rehearsing and reenacting his story, of staying our minds and hearts on him, for he is our source and the key to our fruitfulness before God. |
| | | |
| Acts 4:5-12 | The Rejected Stone Has Become the Cornerstone | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| Every man, woman, girl, and boy is responding to the Rock of our Foundation, Jesus of Nazareth. Whether they cling to him in faith, ignore him as deranged religious teacher, or spurn him for rationalistic or religious reasons, the future of all humankind nevertheless hinges on their response to this risen Lord. The rulers who made the error of history in rejecting the world’s Savior, could not prevent the Lord from completing his work of salvation. The Stone which even the builders rejected was made by God into the very Capstone! During this Eastertide let us affirm that life, deliverance, and salvation are available solely in the name of the One who was hung on a tree, and now is exalted as Lord at the Father’s right hand! |
| | | |
| John 20:19-31 | The Blessedness of Believing | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Easter Season | |
| As those who were not present at the appearances of our Lord, we have been made to lean on the eyewitness testimony of the apostles regarding the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. As those led by the Spirit, and being present at the very events of which they speak, the apostles offer us trustworthy and valid testimony that the same One who was murdered on the Tree is now alive by the power of God. Let us neither regret nor be distracted that our experience is anchored in their word, for the Lord Jesus prayed for those who would believe on him through their word, even us, and now we experience life in him through the faithfulness of their Gospel. Though having not seen him, we still love him. Let it always be so until we see him face to face! |
| | | |
| Mark 16:1-8 | He Is Risen, Indeed! | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Easter | |
| Of all the things that are truly exceptional and distinctive about our historic Christian declaration about Jesus of Nazareth, nothing reveals his divinity and glory as his resurrection from the tomb. Let us stand in reverential fear as we hear afresh the message of the early Christian proclamation that Jesus no longer resides in borrowed tombs, or requires mourning, as if he were still deceased. On the contrary, the same One who was crucified on the Tree is now alive forevermore, having been raised by the power of God, and having become the source of life of all who believe in him. In his resurrection Jesus triggers a series of events which will one day culminate in the restoration of all creation and the fullness of the Kingdom of God. Jesus of Nazareth is no longer dead, and eternal life awaits all who cling to him in faith. |
| | | |
| Mark 11:1-11 | Blessed Is the Coming Kingdom of Our Lord | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season of Lent | |
| On that fateful and dramatic entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem on the colt, God declared without equivocation or unclarity that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of David, the King of Israel, the One whom God has chosen to be the Prophet-Priest-King of the coming eternal Kingdom. The blessed Kingdom of God to come represents the rule of God come again in fullness to the heavens and the earth. The humble King sent from above will become the One upon whose shoulders the government of creation will rest. Incredibly, this greatest of all Kings makes his entrance on the limousine of a donkey, and the red carpet of cut branches. May all who come to share our Lord’s death also be resurrected with and reign with him. |
| | | |
| John 12:20-33 | Losing Our Lives for Christ | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season of Lent | |
| As those whose entire lives are marked by a longing to be conformed to the image of Jesus, let us embrace the truth of the principle of reversal. Only if we hate our lives in this world can we save them for the Kingdom to come, and only if we lose our lives for Christ and the Gospel will we preserve them for the life of the Age to Come. As sojourners on the Way to the Cross, let us ask the Holy Spirit to reproduce in us the grace of Christ, who so willingly laid down his all for the sake our souls, and the salvation of the entire world. |
| | | |
