1 Peter 1:18-19

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation […]…

“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the thrust of what she said. The message was unmistakable. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually … Continue reading "Like a used tissue."…

“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor. The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the idea. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually assaulted. She vividly described how she felt the next … Continue reading ““I felt like a used tissue paper.””…

“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the thrust of what she said. The message was unmistakable. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually … Continue reading "Feeling like used, discarded tissue"…

You are valuable, even if no one else sees it. And surprisingly, I want to use a statue of Buddha to make my point. Lest you think I am endorsing Buddhism, note this: I have no faith in Buddhism; i……

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? (Matthew 16:26) As we reflect on Christmas, perhaps the question co……

“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the thrust of what she said. The message was unmistakable. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually … Continue reading "Like a used tissue."…

“I felt like a used piece of tissue paper. Just thrown away in the trash.” – Vineyard pastor The quote might not be exact. However, I will never forget the thrust of what she said. The message was unmistakable. This brave pastoral spouse shared to a young Vineyard Church about her experience of being sexually … Continue reading "Feeling like used, discarded tissue"…

The calling which we have all received is the calling to belong to Jesus Christ. The idea behind the language of “belonging” goes back to how he introduces himself in verse 1, as a “slave of Christ Jesus.” If you think about it, the idea of a person actually belonging to someone else is very foreign and shocking to us. However, in ancient Rome, where the recipients of this letter lived, one in every three people were owned by someone else. Across the whole of the Roman empire, the proportion of slaves may have been around one in every five people. So the idea of belonging to someone else in a literal was a very common notion back then.…

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? (Matthew 16:26) As we reflect on Christmas, perhaps the question co……