For the full unabridged audio check it out here: Revelation 2 - The First Three Churches

In this session of Beyond Sunday School, we turn our attention to Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and begin working our way through the letters to the seven churches. We won’t get through all seven at once, but we’ll start with the first three: Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum.

Before looking at each church individually, there are a couple of important reminders that shape how we read these chapters.

If you would like to listen to the whole unabridged version it is available here: The Kingdom Received

It was the middle of July in 2001. A couple of weeks earlier, Amy and I had been sitting in her doctor’s office for a routine appointment—ultrasound, measurements, all the usual things. At the end of the visit, the doctor looked at us and said, “I think it’s time for this baby to be born.” The baby was getting a little too big and needed to make an appearance.

This was our first child. We didn’t know the gender—we were doing the surprise thing—and suddenly we were nervous. But the doctor reassured us: “Don’t worry. We’ll schedule a time. You come in on this day, at this time, and we’ll get things started.”

Welcome to The Pastor Next Door.

This is Season 0, Episode 1—the beginning of a small, slow, grace-centered project built around one core conviction: grace is the environment where growth happens.

In this opening episode, I introduce the heart behind the podcast and the idea of spiritual fitness—not as striving, productivity, or self-optimization, but as a growing capacity to live from our union with Christ. This is not a podcast about rules, recipes, or becoming impressive. It’s about becoming available.

What follows is an abbreviated transcript of the live recording. To listen to an unabridged version you can listen here: Revelation 1 - Seeing the Voice of the Risen Christ

Revelation chapter 1 functions as the doorway into the entire book. It sets the tone, establishes the purpose, and introduces us to the Christ we will encounter throughout the vision. The chapter unfolds in three movements: a prologue, an opening greeting, and a breathtaking vision of the risen Jesus.

To listen to the full audio of this message you can click here: God’s Kingdom Come - God’s Kingdom Comes Near We’ve entered a new season in the life of the church.

Every year, Christians move through a rhythm that shapes our imagination and our lives. Our “new year” doesn’t begin on January 1, but with Advent, as we prepare for Christ’s coming. That preparation gives way to the twelve days of Christmas, which conclude on January 6 with Epiphany—the season when we reflect on what it means for Jesus to be revealed as Messiah, King, and Emmanuel, God with us.

Epiphany is a season of unveiling. In some traditions it’s marked by special services, familiar hymns like We Three Kings, and even cultural celebrations like king cakes. But beneath all of that symbolism is a deeper question: What does it mean that Jesus is King—and what kind of kingdom does he bring?

Epiphany also serves as a bridge. It continues our preparation and leads us toward Lent. And so, over the next several weeks, we’re going to spend time wrestling with Jesus’ announcement of God’s kingdom.

You can listen to the full audio here: Beyond Sunday School: Revelation - Introduction

Revelation is one of the most misunderstood—and most avoided—books of the Bible. It can feel strange, confusing, even frightening. Dragons, beasts, bowls of wrath, angels, demons—it’s easy to wonder what we’re supposed to do with a book like this.

We begin with a simple question: What is Revelation actually trying to do?

My hope is that as we work through this book together, Revelation will become less scary and more hopeful, less about decoding the future and more about forming faithful people in the present.

For the full sermon audio message click here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Devoted

We have come to the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Over these weeks, we’ve walked carefully through this small but theologically rich book, and now we arrive at its final exhortation. Today, our focus is Colossians 4:2–6. Beginning in verse 7, Paul turns to personal greetings, material we touched on in our introductory message, so here, at the close, we attend to the heart of his final instruction.

Paul writes:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
(Colossians 4:2–6)

Note: This text based post is very much a summary. To hear my full exposition, grab a couple cups of coffee and listen to here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Grounded

As we turn to this passage in Colossians, we are coming down from some of the highest Christology and richest theology in the letter. Paul has been painting a sweeping vision of who Christ is and what it means for our lives to be “hidden with Christ.” Last week we ended with this summary statement:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17)

That verse naturally raises a question: What does that actually look like in real life? How does this grand theology land in the ordinary places where we live every day?

Paul’s answer is surprisingly concrete. He takes this vision and applies it to the most intimate setting of daily life: the household.

For some readers—ancient and modern alike—this is where the tension begins.

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”

Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.”

— Isaiah 7:10–16, NIV

Sometimes these readings are strange. Sometimes readings from the Revised Common Lectionary are interesting precisely because they force us to read the broader context of famous lines we often take out of context.

This is one of those readings.

For the full audio of this message you can listen here, Lives Hidden with Christ - Yielded

This passage from Colossians 3:15-17 is a powerful call to radical Christian living. It challenges us to measure the gap between the ideal of following Jesus and the reality of our daily lives.

Let’s dive into these verses and the three core challenges they present for every believer.

The end of last week got away from me, and so, I didn’t write up this reflection on time. I truly intend for these reflections to go out each Sunday, but sometimes I fall short.

You can listen to this message here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Put on Love

Colossians 3:5–14 is a passage overflowing with challenge, hope, and vision for what it means to live as renewed people in Christ.

Paul writes:

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:5-14, NIV

There is enough in this passage to preach on for months. But today I want to focus on what I believe is the heart of the whole section: verse 14 — “Over all these virtues put on love.”

Love is not just one virtue among many. It is the virtue that holds all the others together. It is the defining mark of people whose lives are “hidden with Christ” (v. 3), people who have been transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son.

Paul’s question is essentially this:
What does a renewed life look like?
His answer: love—love expressed, embodied, practiced.

So how do we put on this love?

I think one of my enduring memories of Advent as a child is the Advent calendar. I don’t recall us using one very often, but I distinctly remember them being in our house. So many Advent calendars had little chocolates or other treats behind each door. I also remember the Christmas countdown rings—red and green paper strips linked into a chain, with one link removed each day leading up to Christmas. The goal was Christmas morning and getting to open presents.