Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 9

Three ways Jesus comforts us

One of the things that always stands out to me when I read the gospels is Jesus’ obvious care for his disciples. He really, truly loves them; which is to say, he really truly loves us. Jesus comforts us, even as he teaches, and often corrects us. And that stood out to me once again as I prepared to teach the conclusion of Jesus’ farewell discourse in John 16:16–33, and in particular verses 16-19.

The anxiety of the Eleven

““In a little while you will see me no longer,” Jesus said (16). “A...

When the whole world is falling apart, remember this

The whole world feels like it’s falling apart doesn’t it? We’ve got wars. Environmental disasters. Plagues. News stories revealing widespread corruption at every level of society. Basically, if you feel like the world is a giant dumpster fire, it’s because it is.

And what can we do about it? Who can save us from this body of death?

The way I see it, there are three choices before us in answer to these questions. And they’re the same three choices that we always have before us in every si...

The subtle danger our churches face right now

What is one of the greatest dangers to the health of the church? There are so many legitimate dangers we can think of. Most of these revolve around different pressures from all ends of the political and societal spectrum to compromise on core Christian convictions. There are others as well. James’ epistle identifies several of them.

One is what we might call a dead faith—of a faith that bears no fruit (James 2:17).1 But another is one that we might not recognize, at least at first. It’s one...

The hard work of pursuing peace

Throughout 2023, a recurring theme has emerged in pretty much every aspect of my life. In the Bible, other books, podcasts, conversations with friends and family, sermons, it all seems to come back to this one idea: pursuing peace.

“Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:13b, NET). “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people” (Romans 12:18). “…live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience,...

Yes, Jesus loves us (even when our love falls short)

It’s so easy to drag on Peter. After all it seemed like every time he opened his mouth it was to remove one foot and insert the other. (Which is just one of the big hints we have that the Bible really is true.) But sometimes picking on Peter is the way we avoid dealing with an uncomfortable truth. We’re a lot like him. And because we’re a lot like him, he helps us see how Jesus loves us.1

Confused questioning and compassion

Prior to giving his new commandment, Jesus told the Eleven that h...

What was new about Jesus’ new commandment?

John 13 is a complex chapter about one really big idea: love. Specifically, Jesus’ love for his followers. The first half of the chapter gives a picture of the kind of humility Jesus carried himself with as he washed his disciples’ feet. In verses 21-30, Jesus showed extraordinary love to Judas, even as Judas was intent on handing him over to be executed.1 He shows equally extraordinary love to Peter at the end of the chapter.2

But he also makes a profound statement about love in John 13:34–...

Jesus, Judas, and loving those who reject him

Everything we read in the Bible is important. And anytime an event or teaching is repeated, it means we should pay careful attention to it. John 13:21-30 is one such passage. To set the stage, this passage, which follows Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and declaring them clean (John 13:4–10), continues Jesus’ interaction with his disciples as they ate the passover meal. And in these verses, we see a profound picture of his love—not just for the Eleven who were faithful, but for Judas as...

3 ways to refresh your Bible reading

It happens to all of us sometimes: we find reading the Bible to be a chore. The words are flat on the page. There’s no amazing insight coming to us. It’s a struggle to even pick up our Bibles at all some days. We’re so far behind on our reading plans that you feel like it would be better to pick up where you left off in February of next year.

I get this—it really does happen to everyone. But it doesn’t have to be where we stay. When we find ourselves stuck, it’s a sign that we need a refres...

Should we reject weaponized words?

I’m a big believer in the saying that words matter. Both in form and function, words have the power to change hearts and minds. To build up and to destroy; to bless and to curse (James 3). And because that is true, we need to be careful with how we use them. Words—especially good ones—can so easily be weaponized.

This is a danger to us in the American church, in our particular moment.

A good word, wielded wrongly

In the middle to late 20th century, one word in particular became popula...

Longing for the first chapter of the real story

Several years ago, I read the Chronicles of Narnia with my daughters. Every book, slowly over weeks and months. (I think we read them in publication order, I can’t recall though.) When we reached the The Last Battle there wasn’t a sense of “we’re finally finished!”

At least not by me. And not even by my middle daughter, who cried because there were no Narnia stories left. Instead, there was a sense of wonder. And of longing.

The beginning of the real story

So what created that sense o...