Latest Posts

  • Joseph’s Quiet Decision
    Sunday, December 12th, 2021     Audrey Frank     2 Comments

    Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son… Read More

  • Mary’s Honor Burden
    Sunday, December 5th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke 1:28 In honor-shame cultures throughout history, women have been honor-burden bearers for their families, tribes, and nations. Men have served as honor guards. Honor-bearers and honor guards have learned their roles from childhood. Avoid shame at all costs. Preserve the honor of the group by doing your part. This is the essence of the honor-shame worldview.  Mary knew her… Read More

  • Driven Away
    Sunday, September 26th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    God seeks what has been driven away. Ecclesiastes 3:15 Hagar was driven away from her home (see Genesis 16). Her name, Hagar, carries the root in both Hebrew and Arabic that means to flee. For Christians, Muslims, and Jews, she has become a symbol of fleeing. Some might call her the mother of refugees. The God Who Seeks Those Driven Away pursued Hagar in the desert. Alone with her child, destitute, she believed death was… Read More

  • The Accuser of Our Brothers and Sisters
    Sunday, August 29th, 2021     Audrey Frank     2 Comments

    And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." Revelation 12:10 What’s happening in Afghanistan right now has everything to do with the church. [bctt tweet="As the second-fastest-growing church in the world, Afghan followers… Read More

  • When You Don’t Know What to Do, Lament
    Sunday, August 22nd, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12 Jesus sends us out to help people we feel helpless to help. I had this text exchange with a dear friend from Afghanistan a few days ago. How is your family in Kabul? We are praying for you… Read More

  • What is Your Name?
    Sunday, June 6th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” Mark 5:9 “What's your name?” the kind man in the appliance department asked my eighteen-month-old daughter. Blonde curls framed her dimpled face and her blue eyes sparkled as she answered. “Fweetie.”  Fweetie was her version of the affectionate name we always called her: Sweetie. Unashamed of her name, she knew who she was: dear to her father and me, no matter how she pronounced it. Not everyone… Read More

  • The Sin and Shame of Suffering
    Sunday, April 18th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3 His espresso eyes welled with sincerity as he sat gingerly on my bed. What sin have you committed, sister? I have come… Read More

  • In the Company of Outcasts
    Sunday, March 14th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:35-38) Jesus was comfortable in the company of outcasts. For so long I… Read More

  • The Table-Setter
    Sunday, January 31st, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    Thou preparest a shulchan before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with shemen (olive oil); my kos (cup) runneth over. Surely tov (goodness) and chesed (lovingkindness) shall follow me kol y’mei chaiyyai (all the days of my life)... --Psalm 23:4-6, Orthodox Jewish Bible Shulchan: (Hebrew) a king’s table, private use, sacred use (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon; keyed to the "Theological Word Book of the Old Testament"). My table-setter was very… Read More

  • Shame Nation
    Sunday, January 10th, 2021     Audrey Frank     Start the Conversation

    You have made us a byword among the nations;     the peoples shake their heads at us. I live in disgrace all day long,     and my face is covered with shame… Rise up and help us;     rescue us because of your unfailing love. Psalm 44: 14, 15, 26 Shame is not a foreign concept limited to countries where women are hidden behind the hijab, men commit honor-killings, or children with disabilities are forced to leave the… Read More