Crown five is here!

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged…” (Proverbs 17:6 ESV). Our fifth grandchild arrived this week! His name is Samuel Abbott Mitchell and he was born at the Wilson hospital at 9:14 AM this past Wednesday, October 23, 2013, weighing 7 pounds and 11 ounces. Both of his grandfathers (me and Stewart Mitchell) and his uncle

Two tombs and the anastasis

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again. ‘ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you

The gates of Zion

“The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob” (Psalm 87:2 NIV). “Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep’” (John 10:7). What a wonderful time we had in Israel this past summer! Robin and I learned so much in the land of the Bible.

Meditation on the Mount of Olives

“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them” (John 8:1-2 NIV). This Sunday I’m preaching from John 8 where Jesus made his second “I AM” saying. John begins the chapter by clearly describing the

Guest Post: Honoring My Dad, My Pastor, My Boss, and My Friend

The word, “Honor”, means to “give high respect, as for worth; respect manifested”.  As I approach Father’s Day this year, I can’t think of a better description for the way I look at my dad, Pastor Gary Combs, than this word: Honor. My relationship with my dad is an unusual one.  There are not many

On sabbatical

“The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So