CVV Ministries

As four year olds, we squabble over things we say that we deserve—first down the slide; the largest piece of chocolate cake; the undivided attention of our parents. At fourteen,

Nothing We Did (October 19, 2024)

Before we ever learn to speak or find some syllables of thought, we learn that how we’re loved depends on how we live. As infants, we adapted to what brought us comfort and atten

Baptize Us Anew (October 11, 2024)

Every day beside the Jordan, can you hear the “hallelujahs”? Can you hear the joy of angels in their vast, euphoric choir as you give your life—again—to Jesus and walk down

The Grace That Stays With Us (October 04, 2024)

Grace is rarely just a moment; more often, a long season; and ideally, your forever reality. We focus on the moment when a person comes to faith in Christ as though that were the s

A Friendly Sort Of Grace (September 27, 2024)

We search for friends with whom to share the deepest joys we know. Our happiness is multiplied by those who join our gladness. But friendship rests on more than witty fun or shared

A Better Image (September 20, 2024)

At least once a day, we want the truth about ourselves. Whether it’s that first, unflattering glimpse of pajamas and tousled hair, or that last, nervous glance in the office wash

Released From Fear (September 13, 2024)

Fear builds around us prisons only we can see. We peer out through the bars of damaged memories and foolish choices—walled in by concrete years of dark regrets. And we assume the

Trusting Grace (September 06, 2024)

The Bible doesn’t say, “By grit you have been saved through effort: this is your part. It is your gift to God.” But tragically, many who say they believe in Jesus hold this o

Beyond Tomorrow (August 30, 2024)

A hit song many years ago plaintively asked the question on millions of minds: “Will you still love me tomorrow?” The fragility and impermanence of human love has chorused thro

The Question That Remains (August 23, 2024)

“Do you want to be healed?” At first, it seems one of the world’s most foolish questions. What person, paralyzed for 38 years, wouldn’t leap at any chance for healing and r

Where Happiness Awaits (August 16, 2024)

Contented? Not likely. Vast majorities describe themselves as discontented, always seeking for what’s missing. Entire industries are engineered for keeping us that way. Algorithm

An End To Vengeance? (August 09, 2024)

Deep seated in each wounded heart is passion to return the hurt, to even the score for how we have been wronged. Our quest for vengeance is as natural as breathing, or thinking—o

Three Missing Words (August 02, 2024)

Social media memes and reels solemnly declare that the hardest three words to say are the words “I love you.” Acknowledging our affection and commitment to another person—spo

Nothing Better (July 26, 2024)

When the last kind word has vanished from our lips; When the last rich gift has left our bank account; When the last abandoned child has finally found a home—we still need grace.

Morning Has Broken (July 19, 2024)

When we’ve been wounded by the spitefulness of others, it’s grace that quiets our reactive hearts and calms our angry tongues. We remember being forgiven, and so we can imagine

Outside And Above (July 12, 2024)

The great illusion at the heart of our unhappiness is the fantasy that we can solve our brokenness and foolishness. A hundred self help manuals urge us to discover new, untapped po

Deep Cleaning (July 05, 2024)

Sometimes it seems all humanity is obsessed with removing stains from clothing, teeth, and even furniture. Ten thousand products invoke our shame if teeth are not their “whitest

A New And Better Life (June 28, 2024)

If you believe your life has been rescued and redirected by a power greater than yourself, you live differently. One of the most frequent criticisms of the Bible’s teaching abo

Without A Cause (June 21, 2024)

In every place; in every time; among all cultures; with every clan; in youth or age; through wealth or poverty—human beings will underline how what they do unites their lives wit

Grace Becomes Us (June 14, 2024)

The mind in which grace lights a flame becomes, in time, a different mind. By nature and by nurture, we’re self absorbed and focused on what brings us gain, what brings us fame.

Never Without It (June 07. 2024)

Could we ever live a day without the grace of God? That first breath you took this morning—perhaps the first one when you awoke—that breath had its beginning in the gracious

Unexpected Kindness (May 31, 2024)

There’s no accounting for love. Nothing in our calculations of expected human outcomes would lead us to predict the presence—or persistence—of kindness. We’ve learned throu

Answering The Question (May 24, 2024)

What is God like? It sounds like the question of a six year old—honest; direct; no nuance. Simple as it sounds, it’s actually one of the most important questions in human his

Singing Our Song (May 17, 2024)

No one really wants to sing the blues. We only want to hear other people singing the blues. It’s hard to believe that a homeless, hungry, abandoned soul would choose to write a s

Rags To Riches (May 10, 2024)

We love our sugary success stories—the sweet and gripping fantasies we hope might someday happen to us. “Mailroom clerk becomes company CEO.” “Out of luck waitress wins hug

Nowhere Else (May 03, 2024)

An old gospel hymn plaintively asks the question in the last line of each verse: “Where could I go but to the Lord?” The hymnwriter noted the deep challenges of everyday life i

Better News (April 26, 2024)

“That’s old news.” In an information obsessed world, that may be the ultimate put down. Round the clock—and endlessly repetitive—reporting crackles from hundreds of cable

The Greatest Mystery (April 19, 2024)

A mother’s deep affection for her newborn child is completely understandable. The nine months they’ve spent journeying together—and a surge of maternal hormones—create an i

Another Kind Of Prodigal (April 12, 2024)

What kind of person gets angry when a wretched, broken sinner is restored by the grace of God? Are there really people that selfish? The answer, according to Jesus, is sadly “Yes

Unmerited (April 05, 2024)

It’s usually said with a cynical smile and an eye roll: “My good deed did not go unpunished.” And it nicely sums up the exasperation we feel when life doesn’t seem fair, wh

Morning Has Broken (March 29, 2024)

These hours between midnight and dawn test the patience of the world. We stumble through the hallways of dark houses. We seek companionship in all night TV channels and books that

Always Amazing (March 22, 2024)

Fast forward, if you can, to scenes our hearts are aching to be in. Redeemed at last from all the brokenness, the pettiness, the pain of earthly life, we stand before the throne wi

Never Walk Alone (March 15, 2024)

It’s a pandemic for the ages. Even though we’re more “connected” than ever, a tidal wave of loneliness has washed around the world. Eight billion cell phones aren’t e

All Are Gifted (March 08, 2024)

We are wary for good reasons. We’ve had too much of hurt, of wounds, of promises that didn’t deliver. Nothing “too good to be true” should ever be believed. But grace pre

Beyond Belief (March 01, 2024)

It takes a lot to surprise the authors of the Bible. In the pages of Scripture, we find unflinchingly honest stories about every kind of failing—adultery, murder, cruelty, abus

Does God Hear Me? (February 23, 2024)

When warm light floods the living room and laughter visits along with friends, we bless the grace of God for making all our good days better. But when the rain slants heavily

And There Was Hope (February 16, 2024)

A century ago, the poet wept: “Things fall apart. The centre cannot hold.” And after greater blood and anarchy, who dares to argue with him? Pollyannas need not apply.

He Always Was Humble And Kind (February 09, 2024)

Name any virtue dear to you, and there’s one grace behind it. Even the Bible’s best known virtues— “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness

Rehearsing The Gospel (February 02, 2024)

When we were children, practicing was frequently the bane of our existence. Endless loops of cursive handwriting; sticky valves on rented clarinets; stubborn keyboard ivories that

The Honest Truth (January 26, 2024)

When all our boasts are at an end; when no one’s left we might impress; when all our tales of make believe have not made anyone believe—we stare into the mirror that reveals ou

The Song Of The Redeemed (January 19, 2024)

I sing the solo grace “that saved a wretch like me,”—and so I should. Without it, I would be forever lost and never found. But grace is more than what God does for me, though

Unwearied Love (January 12, 2024)

The finest things that we can say are sometimes framed as negatives. Here’s one: “Love never gives up, never loses faith” (1 Cor 13:8). That’s why we celebrate what the Bib

A Covenant For Wanderers (January 05, 2024)

Make covenants, not resolutions, as you walk into the year, for covenants give us company in keeping what we pledge. A resolution with no witness is too often just a wish, a good i

Grace To Forget (December 29,2023)