Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10) This past Sunday we explored 1 Peter 2:9-17 in our series Homeless. For the sake of the sermon, I…
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“Nothing less than life in the steps of Christ is adequate to the human soul or the needs of our world. Any other offer fails to do justice to the drama of human redemption, deprives the hearer of life’s greatest opportunity, and abandons this present life to the…
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Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 The context of the “love chapter,” as 1 Corinthians 13 is commonly called, is not a wedding but a letter written to a church in which strife and division were a thing (1 Cor. 1:10-12). This section of the letter focuses on how the…
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The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. (Deut. 29:29) When an atheist asserts that there is no god, Stanley Hauerwas wisely asks which god…
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It just happened that my reading of a collection of essays by Miroslav Volf titled, Against the Tide, landed this morning, the day after the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, on his reflection “A Politician for All Seasons.” It was written after the 2000 presidential election, during the first season…
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“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16) To be honest, I don’t think this is a good strategy. If asked to apply this strategy, I think most of us would question the wisdom…
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A few years ago, in one weekend, I had two paradoxical experiences. The first, on Saturday morning as I stood in line for breakfast following a prayer meeting for pastors and church leaders. The two men behind me were discussing the political issues of the day. One of…
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Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 Babel, also translated Babylon, shows up in Genesis and continues through the course of the Scripture all the way until the end (Rev. 18). It was an actual empire of the ancient world, but eventually became symbolic of the empires of this world that offer…
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“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” (Inigo Montoya, Princess Bride) Sola Scriptura is one of the so-called Five Solas of the Reformation. The words themselves mean “by Scripture alone.” But the way it is sometimes applied reminds me…
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Reading: Matthew 4:1-11 In the previous post, I noted that Christ’s wilderness testing in the Gospels can teach us much for a time such as this. While this pandemic is generating temptations in seemingly new forms, they are the same temptations in new packaging. The things that tempt…
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Reading: Matthew 17:1-21 While Peter, James, and John are up on a mountain seeing Jesus in all his glory, the other nine disciples are back in the valley experiencing ministry failure. And when Jesus shows up, he apparently rebukes them. What is that all about? Jesus had just…
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Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 How do those whose present experience is dominated by suffering give thanks? Thanksgiving feels like a celebration for the “blessed.” And, indeed it is.…
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Yesterday I voted. Last night I watched election results. Tonight I will pray with the people of God at our Wednesday evening night of prayer and worship (7:30 to 9:00). And it’s a good thing that I am. Tonight will remind me Who is really on the throne…
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Reading: Isaiah 52:13–53:3 I hope my title does not offend you, but more importantly, I hope the unattractiveness of Jesus does not offend you. Sadly, according to the prophet Isaiah, it may well be the very stumbling stone over which many stumble when it comes to Jesus. I…
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Reading: 1 John 3:14-17; 4:7-11 God is love! Right? Yes…sort of… maybe. Don’t get me wrong, I know the Bible says that (1 John 4:8), and I do believe the Bible. My only hesitation is that the meaning of the statement, “God is love,” could mean something entirely…
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