Pastor Prince

In Luke 21, Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem.  His disciples were in awe of the beauty of the temple.  But Jesus shocked them by saying that soon, not one stone of the temple would standing on top of the other.  For the disciples, this meant the end of the world and the coming of the kingdom of God.   Jesus knew that the coming of the kingdom was more complex than his followers imagined.  He had been trying to tell them that the kingdom was entering the world through him, but they didn't understand what he was talking about.  In his discourse in Luke 21, he tried to prepare them for what was to come. The temple would be destroyed, and there would be cataclysmic events like earthquakes, wars, and more.  These were all signs of the coming kingdom.  But they were to wait patiently, because the end wouldn't come immediately.   Their job wasn't to try to nail down the time of the end.  Their job was to do the things J...

Acts 2:42 is a snapshot of what the early church was doing.  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.  Prayer governed everything they did.  It should do the same for us!  Through prayer, we discern God's will and receive the power to do it! Prayer should govern our learning about God.  The early Christians learned about God from the apostles' teaching,  They passed on what they had heard Jesus say and do.  Prayer should direct us in both our personal and corporate Bible study.  Before we begin to read the Bible, we should pray God would speak to us through it.  Before we go to our Sunday School or small group, we should pray that God would do the same! Prayer should govern our ministry in and through our church.  The early church did that through their fellowship, their sharing in common.  God calls each of us to minister in our churches through our spiritu...

People often understand prayer as a monologue.  It's an activity in which we speak to God, asking him for help.  But that's only part of prayer.  Prayer should be a dialogue between us and God. We see a prayerful dialogue in a story about the prophet Elijah, recorded in 1 Kings 19:9b-18.  Jezebel threatened Elijah's life.  Naturally, Elijah fled.  When he arrived in the desert south of Beersheba, he lay down under a broom tree and prayed to die.  But God wasn't through with him.  After he slept a while, an angel woke him up.  He said the journey was too much for him, so he offered him fresh bread and water.  Elijah slept more, and took in more bread and water. In the strength of that food, he traveled 40 days and nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.  When he got there, the Lord asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"   Elijah responded that he wanted to die because Jezebel and her associates had killed a...

Most of us Americans aren't good at waiting!  We want to get things done!  We build roads, bridges, skyscrapers, and more!  We want to rack up achievements as quickly as possible.  We accomplish much good.  But sometimes we create severe problems because we charge ahead without thinking things through or waiting until the time is right. Despite our hectic activity, sometimes God hits the "pause" button in our lives.  He brings us to a halt and calls us to wait on him. Psalm 27 expresses the hopes and prayers of someone in distress.  He's trusting the Lord, but fears those who want to harm him.  He wants God to rescue him right away, but God is moving according to his own timetable! In v. 14, he calls on himself to wait on the Lord.  His waiting isn't passive.  It's done in active anticipation and prayer.  He's waiting prayerfully! Sometimes God calls us to act immediately.  To forge ahead and accomplish what he want...

In the popular Netflix series "Stranger Things," there's an alternate dimension called "The Upside Down."  As I read the gospels, I think sometimes Jesus' disciples thought they were living in "The Upside Down"!  That's because Jesus looked at things from God's perspective, which was often radically different from the way we look at them. One of those times must of been when they were sitting in the temple courts not long before Jesus was crucified.  Mark 12:41-44 describes it.  They were in the area where people gave monetary offerings.  The disciples were impressed by the rich folks who walked by and tossed in their offerings.  They appeared to be giving generous, sacrificial gifts. But Jesus redirected their attention to a poor widow.  She went to the jar and put in two small copper coins.  They contained less copper than our pennies.  From a monetary perspective, they were practically worthless. Jesus drew his disciples aside a...

What motivates our greatest generosity?  Guilt?  Duty?  Need?  In John 12:1-6, we find that the motivation for the most profound generosity is love. It was the Saturday before the Friday on which Jesus was crucified.  Jesus' friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were having a dinner in Jesus' honor.  Jesus recently raised Lazarus from the dead.  It must have been a joyous celebration, though Jesus knew the time of his passion was near. When they ate in those days, they didn't sit in chairs.  Instead, they reclined on pillows or couches around low tables.  Their heads were at the table, while their feet were away from it.  Martha was serving the meal.  Lazarus was at the table with everyone else. While dinner was going on, Mary entered the room, carrying an alabaster jar.  She went to Jesus' feet, broke open the jar, and poured its contents on Jesus' feet.  The smell of fragrant perfume filled the room where th...

The Bible's Big Story about God's mission to save the world comes to a climax in the last 3 chapters of the book of Revelation.  At the end of chapter 20, God resurrects the dead, and they stand in judgment before him as he sits on the great white throne.  He has great books opened, which record the deeds of each person.  But the final determination of judgment is whether the person's name is recorded in the book of life.  The book of life contains the names of those who've followed Christ. At the beginning of chapter 20, God resurrects creation, which has been subject to decay because of human sin.  Then he sends down the New Jerusalem, the eternal home of his resurrected people.  This city comes down to earth, where his people will live.  God is present in this city, so no temple is needed.  The divine and human realms come together. God declares that a new time has come, in which he will wipe every tear from every eye, and there ...