Although often misunderstood as a mere synonym for the church, the kingdom of God is much more to do with God’s plan to rescue our entire world from sin, dysfunction, and destruction. Michael Heiser, resident scholar for Logos Bible Software and host of the Naked Bible Podcast explained the kingdom in episode 37 like this: Read more about Michael Heiser on the Kingdom[…]
It’s all too common today to hear someone criticizing God along the lines of, “I could never worship a God who does that.” The critiques of God that are most growing in strength today relate to morality rather than logic, science, or society. One classification of these criticisms relates to God allowing seemingly pointless suffering, Read more about Why You Can’t Judge God[…]
What do you do when someone comes in who seems totally out of place? For example, if you see someone come into church for the first time and his hair is a mess or she is wearing a low-cut top, how do you respond? I can tell you my response. I embarrassed to say that Read more about Welcoming the Other[…]
Are you holding out hope for someone to come along who will fit with you so well that you won’t have to change a thing? Do you think God has one person picked out just for you with whom you can find lasting happiness? Are you deferring marrying your girlfriend/boyfriend on the basis that maybe Read more about Stanley Hauerwas on Finding the Right Person[…]
I was listening to Tim Keller’s sermon called “Culture” in his series, The Vision of Redeemer, and encountered this amazing summary of the Christian hope: In the future you have all these cultural activities going on. Why? Because our future is a material future. The book of Revelation makes it very clear. At the end Read more about Tim Keller on the Kingdom on Earth[…]
As the American theologian Walter Wink puts it, “Holiness [not sin] becomes contagious in Jesus’ ministry.” Jesus demonstrates that, far from being something brittle that needs to be protected, true holiness is God’s robust cleansing and including agent. Instead of Jesus’ holiness driving him into isolation, it compels him to get out on the streets Read more about Steve Chalke on Holiness[…]
I came across this statement from N. T. Wright’s commentary on Romans 5.18-21 in which he ably explains the meaning of “eternal life” The reign of grace goes forward at speed towards its goal, which is the life of the age to come, the time when God will usher in the new creation in which Read more about N. T.Wright on Eternal Life[…]
“Conflict plays a large part in the Gospel narratives of the ministry of Jesus…Jesus is shown in conflict with Satan (Mt 12:28)…with natural calamities likes storms…with mental illnesses…with religious leaders of his people…with the crowds he draws…with his family…with his disciples…and he is in conflict with his own instinctive clinging to life…when it comes in Read more about Conflict in Jesus’ Ministry[…]
In reading David Helm’s excellent book, One to One Bible Reading, I came across the following statistic about how open young adults are to reading the bible with a friend: We asked a total of 1,000 twenty-something unchurched people (900 American, 100 Canadian), and we compared them to a sample of 500 older unchurched (which Read more about Young Adults Open to Reading the Bible with You[…]
Jesus of Nazareth, the Gospel accounts relate, always comes asking disciples to follow him–not merely “accept him,” not merely “believe in him,” not merely “worship him,” but to follow him: one either follows Christ, or one does not. There is no compartmentalization of the faith, no realm, no sphere, no business, no politic in which Read more about Lee Camp on Following Christ[…]
Shalom, a word that appears over two hundred and fifty times in the Hebrew Scriptures, is a kaleidoscopic vision of what life is like when lived in line with God’s agenda. It incorporates contentment, health, justice, liberation, fulfillment, freedom and hope. Steve Chalke, The Lost Message of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2003), p. 37. What a Read more about Steve Chalke on Shalom[…]
Although, Tice’s book on evangelism leaves much to be desired, I found this quote sobering: When he sent his disciples out on their own for the first time to tell others about him, here’s how he described their mission: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” (Matthew 10 v 16) That’s what Jesus Read more about Rico Tice on Persecution and Evangelism 2[…]
“There may not be persecution, but we’re in a culture of growing hostility to Christianity. It’s not just apathy we face–it’s antipathy. Many people really don’t like the gospel. Sometimes they express that politely, sometimes not politely at all; but they don’t like it. This shouldn’t really surprise us. Think how incendiary much what we Read more about Rico Tice on Persecution and Evangelism[…]