Israel Steinmetz

Is going to church necessary?

Reading Time: 3 minutesI don’t go to church anymore. I’ve been hurt too many times. Is church necessary?   Yes, it is…

Called Out, Sent Out

Reading Time: 5 minutesWhat is the nature and mission of the church? This is a huge question, but we can start to…

Immanuel

Reading Time: 4 minutesImmanuel literally means “God with us.” What a word! What a concept! Isaiah prophesied that a virgin would give…

Kingdom Loyalties

Reading Time: 5 minutesDietrich Bonhoeffer begins his classic Life Together with these words: It is not simply to be taken for granted that…

“Foot Washing: Empty Ritual or Full Symbol?”

Reading Time: 2 minutesby Israel Steinmetz From an outsider’s view, Christianity is full of strange rituals. Even in non-liturgical churches like…

The Baptized Life

Reading Time: 6 minutesI was baptized by my father and another minister in a frigid northern California mountain stream at a campmeeting…

The Ministry You’re Already Doing: The Top 4 Ministry Myths

Reading Time: 8 minutesI’d love to be involved in a ministry. My life is just so crazy right now. Or perhaps you think…

The Whore and the Bride

Reading Time: 4 minutesOurs is a time of fascination with sexuality and its myriad deviations. The “sexual revolution,” traced to the 1960s…

Jesus on the Sabbath

Reading Time: 7 minutes    Growing up in Sabbathkeeping churches, I’ve heard hundreds of sermons dealing, directly or indirectly, with Sabbath. Most of these…

Viewpoint: Grace and Truth Quest

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat does John mean when he says the only begotten Son of the Father is “full of grace and…