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A Sermon from Jesus
Weak Preaching Unqualified observation: There is a lot of “fluff” being preached from current-generation pulpits. You are free to disagree, and if that is not the case where you gather with the saints, then I am pleased and happy for you. But as an observer of the church, as a former pastor, as a contender…
Read MoreOur Jesus Jubilee
Jubilee in Christ Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of…
Read MoreA Kingdom of Priests
The Role Before the Law was given from Mount Sinai,1 God positioned his people, telling them exactly who and what they were—a kingdom of priests. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall…
Read MoreTrust and Do Good
Sebastien Don’t judge me too harshly for this, but I love cats. Most cats (IMHO) are just so cool. If we disagree on this, I’ll pray for your mental clarity. Not always, but often, cats are overly cautious and slow to trust. I can think of six cats just on my block that are exceedingly…
Read MoreRobed In Righteousness
Suits and Shorts The entire concept of clothing is a fascinating study, from today, all the way back to the fig leaves with which Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves. Not only can we look at clothing concepts and styles over time, but we can also do so cross-culturally. Certain religious orders are easily…
Read MoreStraining Toward the Finish Line
Real People, Real Events It is easy to read the Bible as a theological treatise. We can break it down paragraph by paragraph, and verse by verse, squeezing doctrinal truths out of it, often narrowing our analysis to a single word. “Why would the apostle Paul choose this word over that word?” Those of you…
Read MoreLiving In a Godless Society
I had a completely different blog posting ready for this week, but with the horrific, unprovoked, fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte, North Carolina light rail train, followed by yesterday’s fatal shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, and then the shocking murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, I had…
Read MoreThe Beauty of “Shall Not”
A significant portion of those in the world have, at best, a surface exposure to the church. To them, Christians are frequently viewed and described as those who “don’t.” They don’t do this, or they don’t do that. They don’t go there, and they don’t say such things. This assessment of the Christian faith may be sustained by the many “Thou shalt nots”…
Read MoreDesensitized to God
Do you ever find yourself desensitized to God? Does God ever become so commonplace, become so familiar that we lose the edge, that sense of awe? We can read of God’s exploits so familiarly that we are impervious to the wonder that once issued from reading and hearing of the masterstrokes of Yahweh’s paintbrush. Psychologists…
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