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Visiting Churches

Reflections on 52 Churches

Wrapping Up Our Year of Visiting Churches

Our journey of visiting fifty-two churches is over, though the memories will last forever. With much to consider, this wrap-up pulls together key elements of our adventure.

I hope this helps you and your church better interact with and respond to visitors, as well as find new ways to connect with and serve God.

Here are some of my thoughts and reflections on 52 Churches.

Format and Size Matters

In our pilgrimage we found smaller churches (those under fifty people) generally offered more opportunity to make connections, with meaningful community apparent. But I grew weary of the ultra-small gatherings (those under twenty).

Their miniscule size made Sunday worship a struggle, and there’s little hope for their future. Without God’s supernatural intervention, they’ll plod along until their minister can no longer serve or until most of the remaining members die.

Surely, they won’t last the decade.

We also discovered that most liturgical churches—sometimes called high churches—weren’t friendly.

Though there were exceptions, the norm at these gatherings was no interaction with other attendees, not before, during, or after the service. And if anyone made contact it was often a rote effort with a disingenuous air.

This isn’t to imply non-liturgical churches—sometimes called low churches—were friendly. Though many were, some also kept visitors at a stoic distance.

Friendliness is a partner to community. At larger churches (those over a couple hundred), community presents a challenge, while anonymity unfolds with ease.

Without concerted effort we would remain a part of the unnoticed masses at these larger gatherings. Though some people prefer to slip in and slip out of church unseen, interacting with no one, what’s the point of going?

The same outcome—perhaps a better one—could result by sitting at home in front of the TV.

At smaller churches, anonymity is impossible. Although experiencing community is much more likely, there’s no guarantee, either. Arriving and leaving stealthily can’t happen, but what’s key is how they handle their visitors.

Some churches do this gracefully, bordering on celebration, while others have an awkwardness that produces squirming and embarrassment.

Granted, I’m an introvert—as is 51 to 74 percent of the population, depending on who you ask—so my extroverted counterparts may think differently.

For medium-sized churches (fifty to two hundred), some acted with large church anonymity, while others retained small church connection.

Generalizations

As already mentioned, we found liturgical churches less friendly and not as interested in fostering community, with charismatic congregations being the most embracing—even though their theology was often the most exclusive.

Likewise, larger churches struggled to personally welcome us as visitors, whereas this was less of a problem at smaller churches.

Churches with a more traditional service tended to have older congregations, whereas churches with a contemporary service skewed younger, being either completely youthful or having a good cross-section of ages.

At many churches we were among the youngest present, while at a few, we were among the oldest. When the entire congregation is over sixty-five, their future as a viable church seems bleak.

After only a few weeks of visiting, I developed a knack for predicting the type of service based solely on the appearance of the sanctuary: its condition and trappings.

Likewise, the age of the congregation and how they dressed were also sufficient to gauge the type of service we would see. At only two churches did I judge incorrectly (Church #19 and Church #45).

One observation was particularly disconcerting: Churches with older congregations and traditional services tended to be friendlier than at contemporary services with younger people.

This held true even within churches that offered both styles of service. What I’m not sure of is if the primary factor was the age of the congregation or the style of the service, because the two seem interconnected.

Last, based on a prior bad stint at an ultra-conservative Baptist church, I expected the Baptist churches we visited would be dogmatic, closed-minded, and exclusive.

I’m pleased to say that, with one exception, this didn’t prove true, although I’m dismayed that we did witness dogmatic, closed-minded, exclusive attitudes at some of the charismatic churches we visited.

This shocked me because I understood this was an old-school mindset, with the current charismatic perspective being more theologically inclusive and open-minded.

[Check out the discussion questions for this post for our overall reflections and .thoughts about church size and format.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Jesus’s Triumphal Entry

Today’s passage: Matthew 21:7–11, Mark 11:7–11, Luke 19:35–38, and John 12:12–16

Focus verse: The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9)

Having secured the colt for him to ride, the disciples lay their coats on the donkey as a makeshift saddle for Jesus. Mark and Luke tell us that no one had ever ridden the colt.

Therefore, the animal has never carried anything on its back and would instinctively buck if someone tried to mount it. Yet Jesus climbs on with no problem.

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the people spread their coats on the road, a traditional gesture worthy of a king (see 2 Kings 9:13). Those without a coat cut branches to lie in the road (see Leviticus 23:40).

Only John says these branches are from palm trees. Even so, we call Jesus’s triumphal entry Palm Sunday.

Jesus’s grand entry into Jerusalem parallels that of a victorious king returning from battle, riding on a donkey, which signifies him coming in peace. Jesus likewise rides into Jerusalem. The people hail him as their king.

They call out their praises to Jesus. “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Though we now think of hosanna as proclaiming praise, the word means “save,” as in “save us” or “Lord, save us” (see Psalm 118:25).

The people see Jesus as their Savior. However, they perceive him as a physical savior, a military hero who will rescue them from Roman oppression. They don’t understand he is a spiritual savior who will rescue them from sin’s oppression.

“Blessed is he who comes in the Lord’s name,” they shout (see Psalm 118:26). “Hosanna in the highest heaven.”

Mark gives us a fourth line: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” While Luke adds, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

As this grand procession approaches Jerusalem, they create quite a stir. This grabs the people’s attention. They ask in amazement, “Who is this?”

The throng responds, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (see Deuteronomy 18:15).

Luke adds that the Pharisees implore Jesus to silence the people’s adoration. He doesn’t. Instead, he says that if the people keep quiet, the stones will instead cry out in praise of him (see Habakkuk 2:11).

Mark includes another detail. He says that after his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus goes to the temple courts and looks around. But since the day is late, he leaves.

What he sees there, however, foreshadows what we’ll cover later on.

What none of the accounts mention is the two disciples returning the donkey and her colt after Jesus’s triumphal entry. I’m sure they do, but confirmation would be nice.

Questions

  • What have we borrowed that we need to return?
  • How do we better trust Jesus as our Savior?

Prayer: Jesus, may we follow you as our Savior. May our praise be as exuberant now as what we read in today’s passage.

Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Women in the Bible: Jephthah’s Daughter

We don’t know the name of Jephthah’s daughter, but we do lament what happened to her, all the while applauding the honorable way she accepts her fate, showing her faith and confidence in God in the process.

Here’s her brief story:

When the elders of Gilead ask Jephthah to lead them into battle against their enemies, he makes a rash vow to God that, upon his successful return, he will sacrifice the first thing he sees as a burnt offering to God.

He is victorious. However, to his dismay, the first thing he sees when he arrives home is his daughter, his only child, who dances in celebration. He laments his foolish promise to God.

Yet, to her credit, Jephthah’s daughter doesn’t protest her father’s carelessness with her life. Instead she confirms he must act. Her only request is a two month delay to mourn her fate with her friends.

Then Jephthah does has he vowed.

What is unclear is if Jephthah literally sacrifices his daughter, something Moses prohibited, or if her life is redeemed for service to God, similar to Hannah’s giving of Samuel to serve God in the temple.

Regardless of what happened, it’s clear Jephthah’s daughter will not enjoy the future she expected, but she willingly accepts the consequences of her father’s promise to God.

We commend her for her pious attitude, all the while being reminded to take care in what we say.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Judges 10-12, and today’s post is on Judges 11:30-40.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Study

1 John Bible Study, Day 22: Acknowledge Jesus

Today’s passage: 1 John 4:13–15

Focus verse: If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. (1 John 4:15)

In yesterday’s reading John said that anyone who loves has been born of God and knows him (1 John 4:7).

Later we’ll read that anyone who believes in Jesus as the Messiah is born of God (1 John 5:1). And today we read that anyone who acknowledges Jesus as God’s Son has God living in them (1 John 4:15).

Are these three ways to approach God in conflict? Or are they alternative options to achieve the same outcome? Neither.

Instead let’s view them as complementary, working in cooperation to bring about our right standing with God and our future with him in heaven.

It starts with believing in Jesus as the Messiah, as our Savior. We then acknowledge him as the Son of God and give testimony to others about him.

The outcome of our belief and our testimony is loving others. Loving others isn’t a requirement to earn our salvation. It’s the result of our salvation—a natural byproduct of our faith.

The word acknowledge appears four times in the book of first John. This is more than any other New Testament book. (As you might expect, acknowledge also shows up in the gospel of John, 2 John, and Revelation, three of John’s other writings.)

First, we read that whoever acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God also has the Father (1 John 2:23). It’s as if they’re a package. Acknowledging one acknowledges the other. Through our acknowledgment we have the Son and the Father.

Next, in 1 John 4:2–3 the word acknowledge comes up twice. (See our discussion about the false prophets in Day 19.)

Every spirit who acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah who walked among us in human form is from God. Whereas every spirit who does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

Acknowledging Jesus is key. 

This means our faith can’t be silent. We need to tell others about the confidence we have in Jesus and what he’s done for us. 

At a basic level acknowledging him means to give our assent. If someone asks if we’re a Christian—a believer or a follower of Jesus—we acknowledge our standing with him by saying yes. And we do so with confidence.

On a more consequential level, acknowledging means taking the initiative to tell others about Jesus. We testify about him. We are his witnesses to the world. If we don’t tell them, who will?

This is what it means to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God.

Questions:

  1. When have we been silent about Jesus when we should have spoken? 
  2. How can our actions, apart from our words, acknowledge Jesus?
  3. How can we do a better job at acknowledging Jesus before a world who needs him?
  4. What can we do to better tell others about Jesus?
  5. What does our witness look like?

Discover what John says about acknowledgment in John 9:22, John 12:42, 2 John 1:7, and Revelation 3:5 and 9.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.


Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Stop Saying Dysfunctional Family

Don’t Be Bound by What Was and Embrace a Better Way Forward

We need to stop using the phrase “dysfunctional family.” Every family is dysfunctional. Only the degree of dysfunction varies.

Dysfunction exists on a continuum, from highly dysfunctional to marginally dysfunctional, but all families—as with all relationships—have some dysfunction.

Not an Excuse

When people say they come from a dysfunctional family, they often use it as justification for their own dysfunction and an excuse for their own less-than-ideal behaviors.

Yet embracing this label as who they are holds them captive to dysfunction and allows them to pass on their negative behaviors.

Though dysfunction may explain their issues and help them to understand the root cause of their actions, it need not—it should not—stand as an excuse.

Where they once were does not need to determine where they are now or dictate where they will be tomorrow.

The Result of Sin

Dysfunction is the result of sin. And we all sin and fall short (Romans 3:23). So, too, with our families: they sometimes fall short. As long as we have sin in the world, dysfunction will exist.

But this doesn’t mean we should accept dysfunction as inevitable—or irreversible. Whatever degree of dysfunction we experienced growing up does not need to determine our future.

With God’s help, we can change. He gives us the strength to do so (Philippians 4:13).

Worldly Influences

Since we live in a fallen world, we live in a world full of dysfunction.

When the world influences our behavior, we follow its example and embrace its dysfunction (1 John 2:15-17). We perpetuate it in our lives and pass it on to our children.

How this must delight Satan—and disappoint God.

The Biblical Approach

Instead of embracing what the world does and blindly letting it guide our conduct, we should let Scripture influence our behavior, pointing us toward God and away from evil.

We must hide God’s truth in our hearts (Psalms 119:11).

Since dysfunction is the result of sin, to live in dysfunction is to live in sin. The Bible points to a better way—God’s way.

Functional Families

The opposite of dysfunctional is functional. Therefore, the opposite of dysfunctional families must be functional families. Just as every family has a degree of dysfunctionality, every family also has a degree of functionality. Pursue functional.

A functional family attends to the needs of its children. It feeds, clothes, and nurtures. It provides a safe environment, a haven from life’s storms and the world’s negative influences.

We must escape dysfunction and embrace function. And with God’s help, we can.

All we need to do is ask him for the wisdom to do so (James 1:5).

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Visiting Churches

The Home Stretch

Wrapping Up Our Journey of Visiting 52 Churches in a Year

We’ve just completed a stint of visiting churches in three specific geographic areas. Now our focus shifts to a fourth: the churches to the east of us. We’re on the home stretch of visiting 52 churches in a year.

We’ve already visited eight of them (Churches #9, 11, 13, 15, 20, 24, 25, and 26) with scores more remaining, but we only have seven weeks to squeeze them in. We strategically select which ones we’ll visit, skipping the rest—at least for now.

Our journey is winding down. I have mixed feelings. Visiting a different church each Sunday has been fun, enlightening, and educational.

Already, I’m lamenting that our adventure will soon end. We must skip many churches, with dozens more that, although further away than ten miles, would be illuminating to visit.

But I’m anxious to return home, to revisit the familiar and reconnect with friends. The pull of reunion is powerful.

Our journey has worn on us. Every week we must plan where to go, confirm service times, and verify their location. Each Saturday night we go to bed asking, “What time is church tomorrow?”

Our schedule for the entire day hinges on the answer. We hope we’ll remember the right time and not be late. And even though you’d think I’d find visiting churches easy by now, I’m still anxious every Sunday morning.

Takeaway for Everyone: Remember that visiting a church is hard. Do everything you can to embrace visitors.

Part Four Perspective

To wrap up our adventure, we visited some of the churches (#45–52) on the western side of the area’s largest city.

Our home church, Church #53 (Home for Holy Week), which we returned to for Easter, is also in this city, located in the downtown area, but it falls outside of our ten-mile criteria at eleven miles away—and a twenty-one-minute drive.

With many more churches on our list than the number of Sundays left, it was hard to pick which ones to include. Our decisions involved much discussion between Candy and myself, a bit of give and take, and a couple of last-minute changes.

We picked churches which would provide the most varied experiences for this phase. Church #51 (The Megachurch) is our area’s largest, with #52 (Playing it Safe) and #49 (Large and Anonymous) being close behind.

These comprised our extra-large church encounters, offering insight into the pros and cons of “big.”

On the other end of the size spectrum was one small congregation, Church #48 (Small, Simple, and Satisfying) and one medium-sized congregation, Church #47 (Significant Interactions).

The rest of the churches were large congregations. Church #46 (False Assumptions) had a huge facility—suggesting a once prosperous past—but it now has barely enough attendees to fit the large category.

The other two sizable churches were Church #45 (Another Doubleheader) and Church #50 (Saturday Mass).

We included Saturday mass for multiple reasons: another Roman Catholic encounter, a church with a campus connection, and a Saturday night service.

We doubled up that weekend and one other, when we went to a Seventh Day Adventist Church (Church #31, A Day of Contrasts) on Saturday, and an Episcopal Church (Church #32, Commitment Sunday) the next day.

Although it would have been possible to double up and visit two different churches on Sunday mornings, we opted not to do so as it taxed us to go to two Sunday services at the same church.

By going to church on two Saturdays, as well as every Sunday, we were able to complete our fifty-two-church journey in fifty weeks, allowing us to return to our home church for Easter.

On this, the final phase of our journey, my thoughts center on church size, with my overarching concern for community hovering in the background. I claim I want to attend a small church, one with a close-knit and spiritually-significant community.

Yet, my actions belie that as our home church is a large one, bordering on extra-large. Also, and ironically, of the fifty-two churches we visited, Church #51 (The Megachurch) appeals to me the most.

The reason I don’t warm up to most smaller churches—the ones I claim I want to attend—is that they’re frequently older congregations. They have traditional services, don’t embrace newer methods, and are composed of aging parishioners.

I’ve often criticized older congregations, but I’m not against older people. I’m concerned for people who coast toward the finish line, hoping to hang on to the status quo until they go to heaven.

Their focus is on maintaining what they have, not expanding their church or preparing it for the next generation. Yes, they say they want their congregation to grow, but it’s often little more than a hope.

In vain, they expect that if they keep doing what they’ve always done, they will one day gain members. These congregations seldom do something different to attract new people.

Even though using newer practices might help embrace visitors, that would make the people of the church uncomfortable. And comfort, as they drift toward life’s end, is what they seek.

Though there are certainly exceptions, this is the attitude in most older congregations.

That brings me to Church #48 (Small, Simple, and Satisfying). By far the smallest church on the final leg of our journey, and one of the smallest overall, this church holds great appeal.

They earn high marks for conducting their service without the help of paid clergy or a guest speaker, which they did with excellence. They improved many aspects of a typical church experience.

This includes the placement of the cross, how they communicate announcements, the congregation praying without first sharing their needs, many members being involved in the service, and the easy, informal fellowship time afterward.

I assume these are all intentional tweaks made to maximize worship and strengthen community. They possessed a real sense of family, which all churches should have, but too many don’t.

Though the service was more formal than I prefer, it’s easy to overlook, given all the other pluses. My one concern is their future.

Candy and I were among the youngest present, so without an infusion of younger attendees, the church could be serving its final generation.

Though many of these older members are young in their heart, this church offers little to attract a younger crowd who can sustain and perpetuate it.

This isn’t their dilemma alone, but one shared by all the small churches we visited, as well as some medium-sized ones.

If the solution to numeric decline was obvious, churches would pursue it, but the only small churches I’ve ever seen grow are new ones. The established ones keep getting smaller until they close. This isn’t a lament so much as a reality.

The real problem is expectation. A congregation—or even denomination—shouldn’t expect to continue forever. Instead, it’s organic, following an expected life cycle: gestation, birth, growth, plateauing, slowing down, dying, and death.

In fighting this natural progression, members turn their focus away from worship, community, and outreach to concentrate on survival, as if that’s the goal. But it’s not; God is.

Yes, leaders can take steps to lengthen the life of a local church or denomination, but to assume it can—or even should—live forever, misses reality. The only way to last indefinitely is to become an institution.

With religious institutions, the primary focus switches from God to ensuring survival. Paid staff eventually place their continued employment ahead of all else, losing passion for their primary mission.

God isn’t impressed with our religious institutions or the people who strive to sustain them. What he desires are followers who will make a difference, advancing his kingdom for his glory—not their own agenda.

Our Home Church

Although outside our ten-mile requirement and fifty-two-week window, I shared about our home church. What happens there contrasts—often sharply—with many of our church visits.

Although some aspects at a few of the churches were like our home church, none of them matched it.

Our home church remains the lens through which Candy and I evaluate other congregations. Our children did this, too, with their experiences at our home church forming their expectations when they moved and sought a new church.

I’m sad our adventure is over, and at the same time, I’m glad to reconnect with friends and once again establish a regular rhythm to our Sunday worship routine.

Takeaway for Leaders: Individual churches should be organic, with an eventual life cycle that will one day end.

The only way to ensure they last forever is to turn them into a religious institution. Don’t do that.

[Check out the discussion questions for this post as we anticipate what is to come and review what happened.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Borrow a Donkey for Jesus

The Teacher Makes a Big Ask

Today’s passage: Matthew 21:1–6, Mark 11:1–10, and Luke 19:28–34

Focus verse: “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.” (Matthew 21:2)

As Jesus and his followers approach Jerusalem, he sends two of his disciples on a mission. He sends them to borrow a donkey and its colt.

Though they don’t know the reason for this request, he plans to ride the colt into Jerusalem. This will fulfill the Old Testament prophecy that the king will come to them—righteous and victorious—riding the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus doesn’t tell the pair to seek the owner and ask permission first, which seems like the proper thing to do. Instead, he tells them what to say if questioned. This implies they will, in fact, be stopped and quizzed.

When we consider this request in a modern context, what he asks them to do is even more astounding. It would be like Jesus telling us to take someone’s bicycle or even a car.

Certainly, this would be a risky thing to do, as we could be arrested and prosecuted for stealing—for taking what isn’t ours. I’d certainly balk at Jesus’s instruction. I’m not sure I’d be willing to break the law for him.

As for his disciples, they don’t question him. They obey. They are, however, no doubt familiar with the Old Testament law that stipulates the punishment for taking someone’s donkey.

The penalty is to pay back double, to make a two-fold restitution for having a stolen donkey (Exodus 22:4) or being in the illegal possession of one (Exodus 22:9). They are to not even covet—that is, to want—it (Exodus 20:17).

Although Mark and Luke say that Jesus tells them to take the colt, Matthew notes that Jesus tells them to take both the donkey and her colt. This makes sense.

The donkey is trained and will go wherever they lead her, with the colt following along. But the colt alone may fight them for trying to separate it from its mother. So, in this case, they take two donkeys, which would require a restitution of four animals.

Yet, the disciples do as Jesus instructed. And they do so without question or hesitation.

Mark and Luke both mention that people nearby question what the disciples are doing. I suspect they know who owns the pair of animals—and it isn’t the disciples. But the disciples don’t explain.

They say what Jesus tells them to say. “The Lord needs them and will send them back shortly.”

The people accept this.

Questions

  • What does the Lord need us to do?
  • What is our response when God tells us to do something that makes no sense or is even illegal? (Would you borrow a donkey for Jesus?)

Prayer: Lord, may we hear you, listen, and obey—in all situations and at all times.

Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Digging into Balaam’s Story

Serving God or Being Self-Serving?

In reading about Balaam’s story in the post “The Error of Balaam, it’s difficult to see what he may have done wrong. Indeed, based on this record alone, he seems like an upstanding guy.

Therefore, we need to dig into his story to what he did wrong.

There are several other references to Balaam in the Bible (Numbers 31:16, Deuteronomy 23:4-5, 2 Peter 2:15, and Revelation 2:14). These all portray him in a negative light.

Consider Balaam’s story in Numbers 22-24:

  • He practiced divination (and was ultimately killed for doing so).
  • He taught and advised Israel’s enemies on how to distract them from God and sin against him.
  • He was willing to do the wrong thing, as long as there was reward.
  • He tried to curse Israel, which God turned it into a blessing.
    (This would explain why the king gave him three chances to issue a curse and why the king blamed God for Balaam not receiving his promised reward).

This certainly provides a different view of Balaam’s story.

Apparently he wasn’t such a good guy after all.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Joshua 13-15 and today’s post is on Joshua 13:22.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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Bible Study

1 John Bible Study, Day 21: The Love of God

Today’s passage: 1 John 4:7–12

Focus verse: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)

So far in John’s letter he’s already talked a lot about love, building up to this passage in chapter four, where the topic of love becomes the focus. In the rest of chapter 4, John mentions love twenty-seven times. That’s a lot of love.

Building on his encouragement to love one another from the prior chapter, John again reminds us—his dear friends—to love one another.

This is because love comes from God, and he empowers us to love others. When we are born of God and know him, we’re able to love others well. But those who don’t know God aren’t able to love. 

Loving others is the fruit of our relationship with our Heavenly Father; it’s proof of our right standing with him, through Jesus.

Though we love God, he loved us first (1 John 4:19). He proved this by sending his precious Son to earth so that we might live eternally through him. Father God sent Jesus into our world as the sacrifice to atone for our sins (1 John 4:10).

We often think of Jesus’s great love for us. He showed this ultimate expression of love through his willingness to die in our place for all the wrong things we’ve done in our life—and all the wrong that we will do. 

Jesus endured a most painful death, tortured at the hands of his Roman executioners. Dying in our place is the epitome of love, and we celebrate him for making this supreme sacrifice. In turn, we love him back to the best of our ability.

Yet John isn’t talking about Jesus’s love for us by dying in our place. Instead, the apostle is talking about Father God’s great love for us. God showed his immense love for us by sending Jesus to save us.

For those of us who are parents, we don’t want to see our children suffer. We’d gladly stand in their place if we could shelter them from the pain of their struggles.

Our Heavenly Father is no different from us in this regard. How hard it must have been for Father God to send his precious Son into our world, knowing what he would have to endure.

That’s real love. And God’s immense love for us is why we should love one another.

When we do, “God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).

Questions:

  1. How well do we do at accepting God’s love for us? 
  2. How well do we do at loving others?
  3. Who do we love well enough to die for?
  4. Should our list be longer? Why?
  5. How can we thank God for loving us?

Discover more about God’s love for us in Romans 5:7–10.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.

Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.


Discover practical, insightful, and encouraging truths in Love One Another, a devotional Bible study to foster a deeper appreciation for the two greatest commandments: To love God and to love others.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Categories
Christian Living

Jesus Is the Way, Not the Destination

The Father Is the Destination and the Savior Provides the Path

Jesus tells Thomas, “I am the way.” The only way to get to the Father is through the Savior (John 14:5-6). He’s not a way. He’s the only way.

Though many people uphold the Christ as the primacy of the Trinity, we must remember that Jesus is the way. He is not the destination. The Father is the destination.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

John preaches a message of repentance. He baptizes those who confess their sins. This is to prepare the way for the Lord (Matthew 3:1-12).

Though many people assume John is the one foretold by the prophets, he plainly confirms he is not. In fact, he is so insignificant in comparison that he is not even worthy to untie the Savior’s sandals (Acts 13:24-25).

John’s father pronounced this truth that John will prepare the way at John’s birth (Luke 1:76). And this is exactly what John does (John 1:23).

Jesus Is the Way

John prepares the way for Jesus. Jesus is the way. The Savior provides the way to the Father.

Our sin separates us from God, from being in the Father’s presence. But Jesus redeems us from the wrong things we have done and restores us into right relationship with his Father—with our Heavenly Father.

Not only is Jesus the way, but he is also truth and life (John 14:6). He shows us the way to the Father. He teaches us the truth about the Father. And he gives us life with the Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

This all comes through our Messiah, and he is the way to the Father.

The Church Shows the Way

The book of Acts refers to Jesus’s followers as the Way (Acts 9:1-2).

This doesn’t mean they replace Jesus as the way to the Father. Instead, they function more like John and show the way to the Father through Christ. He remains the only way to the Father.

As Jesus’s followers we should point the way to Jesus so that through him they can be brought into fellowship with the Father.

Jesus is the way, and the Father is the destination.

Our Role Today

The people we know may not know Jesus, but we can show them to him and he will provide the way to the Father. All they need to do is follow him.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.