"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:10-11
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have an Enemy who is seeking to...
Jesus was born to a poor Jewish girl who could have been stoned and executed simply for becoming pregnant outside of wedlock. It should be no surprise to learn that the cultural attitudes toward women in Jesus’ day were disgraceful and inexcusable. There was no such thing as “equal...
There are three types of people when it comes to entering a new year. First we have the cynic who has been around the block before and does not get much excitement from a new say on the calendar. Second we have the fool who is so naive that he thinks he can achieve the impossible as long as he...
No matter what you are facing, Christmas gives you a reason to Hope!
One of the best expressions we have found of the Christian understanding of hope comes from Jackie Jarawan in her blog titled "Hope" -
"Honestly though, hope has been far away at times ... I have struggled with depression...
Our Soma family has recently suffered the loss of our dear brother in Christ Pastor Randy Sheets.
This post is shared with permission from Jackie Jarawan, one of our Soma Eastside leaders, who also experienced deep tragedy when she experienced the loss of a child. We hope her journey with grief...
Every year in the Pacific Northwest we are treated to an array of exploding color flying from the branches of our many deciduous trees. Maples, Cottonwoods, Alders, Pacific Madrones, and Birch trees remind us to look up from our phones and marvel at the beauty of creation.
David Lee, professor...
Since this week our youth are serving the poor in Seattle I thought it would be valuable to remind ourselves what Scripture says about God’s heart for the poor.
Where did poverty come from?
Poverty was not part of God’s original design for his creation.
When God made the world, he...
There was an interesting article in the LA Times about a loneliness crisis on University campuses. It was written by Varun Soni who is Dean of Religious Life at USC.
He writes, "When I arrived at USC 11 years ago as Dean of Religious Life, my pastoral conversations with students mostly focused...
A Preliminary Understanding of Forgiveness
It is ironic that right after studying forgiveness I found myself counseling a friend about forgiveness in his marriage. And then, the following week, I had to ask for forgiveness in my own marriage.
No one escapes this need to be forgiven. And all of...
The Gospel According to GLASS
Genesis tells us that when God made humanity he made us in his image and likeness. As a result of this profound truth, we believe we can find God's truth and wisdom streaming out of our movie theaters, our novels and even our rock shows, because every artist...