Author: Pastor Ray Patrick

It’s normal for most Christians to want to share their faith. And I’ve learned that there are two ways to do that: prescriptively and descriptively. Prescriptive sharing of faith involves offering advice about what people should do to deal with difficulties they may be having. This is similar to what a doctor does when writing a […]

Just like the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the yeast also points to something small that produces amazing results. But in Israel, yeast often represented sin, contamination, and evil. Did Jesus intend to speak of yeast that way in this parable? Apparently, he did. The Bible says, only bread without yeast could […]

The books of the gospels focus on Jesus’ public ministry. For three years, he taught about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and even raised the dead. But before any of that, for thirty years, Jesus lived in the family home. And for most of those years, he worked with his […]

Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus at Eastertime (what the world calls it), we heard about the Easter bunny, eggs, and chocolate. Those old secular traditions have nothing to do with Jesus’ gift of a new life for all who believe in him. But they can be distracting if we forget to focus […]

More frequently than ever, I am hearing the cry “Is there any hope?” Many of us have had that thought at one time or another, referencing an image of someone drowning – crying out for help. In Psalm 130, the sense of hopelessness is made worse because the psalmist knows the reason for the brokenness […]

I knew someone who wanted glasses so bad that they would fake being partially blind. In the Old Testament, we see that the prophet Isaiah speaks of God’s coming judgment. God is tired of his people’s disobedience and sends Isaiah with the harsh message: “You have a choice: Go on deliberately not seeing and hearing […]

As I travel the world and look at the youth I minister to daily, I can’t but help but think on how God has blessed us with creativity. Creativity is part of the image of God given to human beings, and sadly, we have put our creativity to use to destroy as much of the […]

Our God has consistently defeated the enemy, from Eden to Calvary, and will continue to till the second coming. One time this has been noted, was in the biblical story of Esther. The Jews had escaped Haman’s plot of destruction. Haman (the enemy) had fallen into the hole he had dug for others, and many […]

As I was packing for this current trip, I wasn’t sure what clothes to take. Thought about the weather, the people and what their expectations are. Self-help books are well known for this bit of advice: Dress for success. “Do you want to have a dream career”, they say? Are you longing for fulfilling relationships? […]

To the typical everyday Christian, the Cross is a symbol of victory. But this Good Friday, just like when Christ died, doesn’t feel good at all. We reflect on Jesus’ death on the cross and think of the suffering He had to go through. Then we turn our attention to today, with millions of our […]

One of our preachers travelled to Greece to retrace the footsteps of the apostle Paul. Near Philippi our guide pointed out a tumulus—a burial mound disguised to look like a hill. After years of effort, the archaeologist discovered the tumulus of Phillip II, ruler of Macedon in that region. As he held the golden chest […]

The picture at Golgotha is quite striking. There were three crosses, with Jesus in the middle. Our salvation could have been accomplished if Jesus had died alone. But that’s not how God designed it. Scripture says, Jesus died between two criminals. They died as punishment for their crimes. Like us all, they had sinned against […]

Did you know that the firstborn sons of Israel were spared from death on Passover night? Not because they were better than the children of the Egyptians. The Israelites were no less sinful or depraved than the Egyptians. The Israelite firstborn was spared only because of the blood of the lamb. Scripture says, when the […]

As we enter this passion week we are told that each day we should reflect on the closing moments that led up to the surrendering of our Lords life to the cross. The cross was the most humiliating and cruel way to die at that time. HE TOOK THE SHAME and LAID DOWN HIS LIFE […]

In my youth, many moons ago, we were drawn to “who done it” detective movies. Real-life movies about murder, tragedy, love, and heroism, and we tended to hope for a happy ending. Our imaginations would get fired up with the plot’s twists and turns. We didn’t like it when a character got treated unfairly, and we smiled when justice was served. We would walk away satisfied when it all ended well.  Stories in Scripture and life can […]

For much of my life, I’ve wanted to be successful.  I wanted to look good, have more money, and just outdo the competition.  I did not really have specific goals for myself. It was always just a feeling that a better life was out there to be had.  Looking back, my ability, my clothes and my financial situation […]