Oct
10

Please, tell the story again!

I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
(Psalm 119:102-104 ESV)

I did my first funeral last week for a friend’s father. Despite the weight of grief that surrounded that day, it was an amazing opportunity to preach and proclaim the Gospel to a room of people who were listening. That’s the thing about funerals, as opposed to a morning at church or an afternoon at a wedding– you have to listen. You’re compelled. On Sundays, there are a million distractions that can keep your mind floating around and away from focusing on what’s being taught and preached. At a wedding, there’s almost so much excitement (for the bride and groom, or for your own opportunity to be bride and groom) that focus becomes impossible. But not with a funeral. The pain of the moment and the tragic reality of death looms over everyone in that room and for those 15 minutes I got to share, people were actually waiting for an answer to their grief. Read the rest of this entry »

May
18

God and Sobriety

For a long time, God had made writing my primary passion. I wrote quite a bit and then began dabbling into photography. Last year it was a professor at UMass who helped me discover my new passion and favorite storytelling device: videography. I pray that God would use this new and exciting medium to glorify himself.

So here’s my first shot at it. This video was made for my last project as a UMass student. It explains the enslavement of addiction and the freedom in Christ.

Apr
15

What Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Mean To Me

Someone asked me the following question:

What does Jesus’ death and resurrection mean to you?

And here is my response to them:

In the most general sense, Jesus dying and resurrecting is the most important thing to Christianity. It is the cornerstone to everything that our faith is built on top of. Let me tell you what I mean: his death is crucial because it assumes that he was alive. Many will tell you that Jesus never existed, never lived. But half of this equation requires that you believe that he walked, talked, breathed, and even burped on this earth. So to believe that he died, means believing he first lived. This is only half of what you’re asking. The second part is the resurrection. This is even more crucial, because we’re not just asking did Jesus live, but did he do something that no other human being on the face of this earth has ever done before? Read the rest of this entry »

Sep
24

The Role of the Church

Should there even be a local church?

Being a senior at UMass I’ve been blessed to meet a good amount of Christian students and faculty over the years. As a freshman I discovered that many Christians I met through a club or student organization, although attending a campus fellowship weekly, were not active members in a local church. Three years later I’m learning that this wasn’t a fluke—it’s a trend that affects not just students but resounds in other places I visit across America. Read the rest of this entry »

Aug
16

2 Timothy – The Rocky Road

discouraged

Paul writes a second letter to his protégé and spiritual son Timothy for a reason. Just by looking at chapter one you can see generally why– Timothy is in a bit of a rut. He’s weary and tired from the work he’s been doing particularly by not having his mentor and father Paul around to encourage him on. More than not being there as a motivator and friend, Timothy’s only news of Paul is that he’s suffering in prison. In some form or another, we all have found ourselves (if not right now) in a similar spot of spiritual discouragement. Read the rest of this entry »

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