UBC Wed For Life

                                    The format and tone of the Bible shift pretty substantially going from the Old to the New Testament. The Old Testament covers thousands of years of history and introduces us to hundreds of different people playing a variety of roles in the story God tells us. The New Testament is the culmination of the story namely — the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the New Testament is all about Jesus, He didn’t write a single word in it. Other people were tasked with telling His story, delivering His message, and executing His will in the building of His church. Peter was one of the most important figures in the New Testament. So much so that he is recognized as the first Pope of the Catholic church. With such an important impact on our faith, you might think Peter was the paragon of a believer in Christ. Maybe he was, but that doesn’t mean he was perfect. In fact, Peter was ...

  Across Scripture, history, psychology, and lived human experience, periods of deprivation and uncertainty consistently precede transformation. The settings in which these periods occur are both physical and psychological and are biblically referred to as the wilderness. The wilderness appears as a recurring environment in which control is removed and identity is clarified. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness of Midian before liberating Israel. Elijah fled to a cave when death threats stripped him of his prophetic confidence. Jesus Himself, immediately following His baptism and divine affirmation, was “ led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted ” for forty days (Matthew 4:1). This was not accidental wandering but intentional leading, suggesting that barren seasons function as deliberate mechanisms rather than random misfortunes. This observation raises a fundamental question: If wilderness experiences appear consistently in transformational narratives, what divine ...

                  The Story We’re Taught About Power Most of us grow up learning the same unspoken rule: if you want influence, take control. Climb the ladder. Guard your position. Don’t look weak. Over time, this story shapes how we understand leadership, success, and even our sense of purpose. Yet many discover a strange contradiction: the tighter we grasp for control, the more restless, disconnected, and exhausted we become. That inner tension opens the door to a deeper question: Is there another way to live and lead? When Power Fails to Deliver If power, as the world defines it, so often corrodes meaning and connection, is there an alternative vision for greatness, one that produces wholeness instead of harm? More specifically, does Jesus offer more than a moral challenge? Does He provide a workable redefinition of power and purpose that actually leads to life? Understanding True Power Jesus’ life and teachings exhibit a radical possibil...