Why You Need To Be in Church This Sunday
We’ve all but turned worship into the living room experience, complete with coffee, large television screens, couch-like seating, and a pastor who barely got out of his pajamas.
Our low view of the Sunday gathering as pastors has resulted in the church being an optional assembly. If people can get their church experience at home on the couch, there’s no reason for them to drive anywhere. When we strip worship of its weird beauty (the beauty of the Sacraments, preaching, liturgy, mystery), we’re... Continue Reading
Gentleness – All About Communication
In the New Testament, gentleness usually has to do with communication, both verbal and non-verbal.
Gentle people reach out to others in ways that make others want to reach out to them. Communication is easy, or at least looks easy, for the Christian who has disciplined himself to bear such fruit. Are you gentle? Ask yourself, “do others welcome me readily when I approach them?” And “do others easily come... Continue Reading
What is the Object of Our Zeal?
We may not be tempted to worship Baal this week, but where is "grace" used to excuse sin today?
Disparage and mock people who disagree with us because we are obviously “right?” Thus our “rightness” takes precedence over loving our neighbor? Not only is pride at stake but the fear of losing what makes us feel safe and perhaps our identity? Dull our consciences or compromise our ethics for the sake of a political... Continue Reading
Braving Hard Passages: The Analogy of Scripture
Creativity is not always the best virtue to rely upon when it comes to interpreting a hard passage.
The point? You must decide between Jesus and your money. In other words, who or what is your God? Rather than build your heaven on earth, Jesus is calling you to be generous and so store up treasure in heaven. Or to put it another way, have a good eye rather than an evil one. ... Continue Reading
Saved by the Life of God’s Son (Romans 5:1-11)
The full present and future life of the believer can never be separated from the resurrection life of Christ.
It is not simply the resurrection as an event that is in view, however. Paul does not say, we shall be saved by his resurrection, but ‘by his life,’ and therefore it is the exalted life of the Redeemer that is intended. The resurrection is in the background as conditioning the exaltation life. The... Continue Reading
10 Things You Should Know about Theophanies
The word theophany is a combination of two Greek words, meaning God and appearance.
Theophanies are of different kinds. Examples include a thunderstorm, fire, a cloud, glory, a courtroom, a human figure, a warrior, and a chariot. Each of these highlight aspects of God’s character and his dealings with us. Each foreshadows the coming of Christ. Each kind is mysteriously related to the other kinds. The word theophany... Continue Reading
Teaching the Trinity: TRIUNE
Summarizing the salient features of the Trinity using the acronym TRIUNE.
No subordination of rank, no multiplication of deities, no confusion of persons. God subsists as three equal persons, not three gods, not one god with three different faces, and not one supreme deity with an angelic deputy and an ethereal delegate. Every Christian should be Trinitarian, not Unitarian, nor Jesus-monistic, nor pneumo-manic. If I... Continue Reading
Is God Far Away When He Feels Far Away?
A battle in the human heart arises where when something is very hard and God seems far away
So, the experience of God feeling far away is a common one. What is so remarkable in how the Bible approaches people in suffering—fully cognizant that they feel God is far away—is that over and over again it says “he’s near, he’s in it, and he’s going through this with you.” So Crushed in... Continue Reading
Bart Ehrman on How Christianity Defeated Paganism
The combination of Christianity’s missionary heart and exclusive worship led to its eventual triumph
Ehrman argues that the emergence of Christianity as the victor over pagan religions in the ancient world was “the single greatest cultural transformation our world has ever seen.” And, consequently, there are few historical questions more important (and interesting) than how and why that happened. In recent years there’s been a resurgence of interest... Continue Reading
The Power of Biblical Thinking
There is something supremely biblical about thinking right thoughts
However, when you look at yourself through the biblical lens of God’s Law, you discover that, “you are a worse sinner than you ever dared imagine;” then, when you look at yourself through the lens of Christ, you realize that “you’re more loved than you ever dared hope.” Somewhat surprisingly, there has been a... Continue Reading