Tom VanderPloeg

Times of waiting are natural and—in fact—biblical. God uses our times of waiting to help us focus more on God's certainty in the midst of our uncertainties.

Jesus chose to become a servant for a reason; our response to follow Jesus as servants in this world is connected with that exact same reason.

One of the things I want to note about John's gospel this week is the unique perspective this gospel provides into the life of Jesus. The three other gospels in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are all known as the synoptic gospels. Synoptic is a greek term that simply means “same view.” In other words,…

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem before the Passover shows us a collision of identities and expectations; Jesus is welcomed as a king but acts as a servant.

Sometimes God uses our individual acts of service to be much more when joined together with what God is already doing.

The servant nature of Jesus shows us not only a demonstration of God's hospitality, it shows us the direction of God's hospitality.

Jesus comes not only to serve his people and bring salvation, but also because his heart longs for a desired outcome to take place in the hearts and lives of his people.

Jesus shows us that he is willing to sacrifice everything in order to serve the world he loves; service takes commitment.

Jesus begins his ministry of service from a place of emptiness; the call to serve is not dependent on what we have, but on what we give up.

For most of the book of Job, God remains silent. When God does finally speak up towards the end of the book, Job is left with just one response to give.

As Job finds a path through his moment of struggle, we see his awakening recognition of exactly what he needs: a mediator to step in and advocate on his behalf.

The story of Job forces us to confront a God we cannot always understand; like Job, we search for ways to relate to God in moments when we do not understand.

Job's friends think they have an explanation for Job's suffering, but they are wrong about who God is.

Sabbath is a day set aside as holy to the Lord; that makes sabbath a time to reorient ourselves and our lives towards God. In other words, sabbath is a day for worship.

When Jesus prays for his disciples, he prays that “they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” The Sabbath is designed by God as a day to give yourself fully to delight in God's world, in your life in it, and ultimately in God himself.

Jesus frames the sabbath as a time in which our God-centered focus brings renewal and restoration. Sabbath rest is part of what forms us to be more complete disciples of Jesus.

To follow after Jesus is to adopt his overall lifestyle as our own and arrange our daily life around his presence and peace. This does not begin with doing, it begins with stopping.

The gift of Jesus at Christmas is more than a gift of forgiveness and salvation; the gift we receive through Christ is the gift of an eternal covenant family to which we belong.

The peace of God which we celebrate at Christmas is about more than absence of conflict; it is about wholeness. Jesus comes into the world and gives himself for us so that we could be made whole again.

So much of what we experience as joy at Christmas centers on the people we get to be with at Christmas. So also, the joy we experience in God at Christmas is not just what Jesus does FOR his people, it is primarily what Jesus does to be WITH his people.

A perfect gift reflects both the giver and the one receiving the gift. In the birth of Jesus, God gives a gift of love that reflects both God's generosity of grace, as well as our need to receive God's grace.

Hope is a gift from God that orients the focuses and direction of our faith towards the promises of God.

On this day we set aside for giving thanks, let's take a few moments and consider this story from the gospel of Luke which teaches us a little something about gratitude. It is a story full of surprises. Maybe we miss those surprises because our culture is so far removed from the day of Jesus. However,…

Today is the last in a series paying attention to all the times in which the Bible commands us to not be afraid. I have noted in the past weeks that scripture tells us over 100 times to not be afraid. In the past weeks we have examined that command in light of related features. We have noticed how worry…

Scripture reminds us that the perfect glory of God is revealed in Christ; yet at the same time, we carry that gospel message as imperfect people.

Fear in our world grows and expands when we add worrying. One of the ways the Bible tells us to push fear aside is by putting our worries aside.

A 50th anniversary service which acknowledges God's covenant faithfulness to Fellowship Church.

James wraps up his letter to the churches with advice to cover their circumstances in patient prayer with one another.

James tells us that the allegiance of our hearts is seen in our outward actions; therefore, wisdom from heaven must begin in the allegiance of our hearts.

James tells us our attitudes and actions are both able to be shaped by a wisdom which looks upward to the example of Christ.

James is often referred to as a book of practical wisdom for the church; yet James starts his writing with advice that would seem very unconventional for his readers.

Jesus tells us in the gospels that his words are not just meant to teach us knowledge, God expects his word to change us. How does this transformation take place in us yet today?

The creation itself reveals the creator. We are reminded through the Psalms not to worship created things, but always to see God through the creation.

The Bible not only reveals God's gospel message of redemption, it also gives us a perspective towards our own identity in this world; it reminds us of who we are.

Christians say that the Bible is the Word of God; but what do we mean by that and how do we understand the words of these ancient texts to be the voice of God?

Prayer changes things. The most effective prayers are not the ones which seek to change my situations and circumstances—the world and people around me; the most effective prayers are the ones that change ME.

Jonah gives us an example of both a prayer that makes room in his heart, and a prayer that shuts out room in his heart. We can learn from Jonah the ways in which our own hearts either make room for prayer, or shut out room for prayer.

What an amazing thing it is that God has made it possible for us to present with God by the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. In prayer, we can embrace the indwelling presence of God with us.

Learning to sift through all the “voices” in our world and to discern how God is speaking to us is a key task of discipleship. Prayer teaches us how to silence all the other noise in our world so that we can listen to God.

Everybody wants a place where they know they can belong; the Bible assures us that we are created for belonging, and baptism is the sign of God's promise that we always have a place to belong with him.

God invites us as his people to connect our hearts with his heart; a well-rounded rhythm of prayer with God helps us as disciples of Jesus to remain connected to God's heart.

Prayer is a practice which brings us in union with God; sometimes the best way to begin embracing a life of prayer is to let others give you the words.

The Bible often reminds us that in our attempts to seek out God, it is always in fact God who is seeking our hearts.

The gospel of Jesus orients our souls towards a new life with God; the practice of worship also orients our souls towards a new life with God. Making room in our lives to nurture the wellbeing of our community brings action into a new life with God.

God created humans to be in relationship together. As followers of Jesus, we make room in our lives to cultivate meaningful relationships in ways that encourage the spiritual fruit of faith.

Making room in my life to listen and respond to the Holy Spirit means that I must declutter my life in order to make room.

The Bible tells us that faith is interactive. This means that the faith God has planted in his people calls for a response; the Bible also gives us a clue to what that response looks like.