While anger can be a legitimate response to injustice, wrath is where anger is distorted. This happens when we let it linger or when our anger is motivated by ignorance or selfishness. To combat the power of wrath in our lives, we can cultivate the virtue of forgiveness. The way of forgiveness follows the example…

Greed distorts natural self-interest by elevating our desires over even the basic needs of others. For the Greedy person, this may feel nice in the short term, but it keeps them from properly relating to their community. The answer to this is the virtue of generosity, where we participate with God in his gracious giving…

Lust seems like an embarrassing but inconsequential sin. But in both the scriptures and our personal experiences, we can see that lust leads to things that are quite consequential. Lust--disordered sexual desire--causes us to objectify people for our sexual gratification. Because of this, it wildly distorts our relationships with others in ways that can have…

Envy, the second deadly sin, happens because we fix our attention on the things God gives us rather than on God and his mission in the world. As we understand our calling as Christians, we draw our significance from that rather than by comparing ourselves to others, and so we can cultivate the virtue of…

Pride seeks to build self-worth by bettering or mastering others. This is a deadly sin because it takes us out of a posture that allows us to receive God's grace, and it disrupts our ability to form the kind of mutually beneficial relationships that God desires for us to have.

Paul's journey to Rome to stand trial before Caesar is anything but smooth sailing. But during the harrowing journey, Paul demonstrates what following Jesus looks like in practical ways when we are buoyed by the knowledge that no matter what storm we're going through, God is by our side.

The riot that happens when Paul enters the temple and his subsequent arrest are a consequence of Paul's mission to extend God's boundary-breaking hospitality to those outside of the community of God's people. Rather than honouring the boundaries that keep God's favour confined to a single group, he lives a life reaching out the marginalized…

Paul is able to work miracles in Ephesus because he is working under the authority of the Holy Spirit. But when the Seven Sons of Sceva attempt to hijack the power of God for their own purposes, they quickly find out that God's power is not available to those who aren't submitted to God's will.…

In the stories of Apollos meeting Priscilla and Aquila and in Paul's first encounter with the Ephesian disciples, we see how the Spirit draws people into communities. It's in these communities that God combines the individual's unique contributions and limitations and equips the church to reach out in mission.

Paul's experiences in Corinth demonstrate how Christians will often encounter and need to stand up to opposition as we faithfully engage in mission. Just as Jesus faithfully supports Paul in mission, so he also faithfully walks with us. Questions for Reflection

While God is merciful towards us, there is a catch: He demands that we have mercy for one another. To walk with God means breathing the air of forgiveness--both breathing in God's mercy for us and breathing out God's mercy for others.

When God is about to judge the evil city of Sodom, he tells Abraham about the plan, inviting him to intercede on behalf of the cities. Abraham boldly asks God to spare the city if merely ten righteous people are found there. Abraham serves as an example for us. We live in a world in…