Growing Deeper Into the Soil of God's Word to Bear Fruit For His Kingdom
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” (2:16-17) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and... Continue Reading →
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2) Before even the dawn of creation, before the first 'let there be...and it was so,' while it... Continue Reading →
In my recent review of Hendrikus Berkhof's Christ the Meaning of History, I noted that Berkhof provides insight into the present situation of the church by examining the theology of history present in the early church. Here is a great example: Once the gospel has taken root in a culture, and the old powers are more... Continue Reading →
Growing up, I was surrounded by the Left Behind series and the popular Christian assumption of dispensationalism. It was never officially taught to me, but between the books and movies that were popular in my area, it was simply assumed. Going to college and majoring in religion, I suddenly became ‘enlightened’ and cast off my... Continue Reading →
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (Mt. 18:21-22) Forgive and Forget Forgiveness can be difficult in the best of circumstances. Even... Continue Reading →
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9) At just after nine AM on Monday morning, my fire pager went off. Ambulance needed. The dispatcher listed an address about 100 feet from our door. A woman is not breathing. In the year I have been on the local fire department,... Continue Reading →
Many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 7) Growing up, I had always been taught to envision the Antichrist as a proper noun. It was capitalized for a reason. A large, scary,... Continue Reading →
Trygve David Johnson, The Preacher as Liturgical Artist: Metaphor, Identity, and the Vicarious Humanity of Christ. (Cascade Books; Eugene, OR), 2014. P.T Forsyth once claimed that “with its preaching Christianity stands or falls.” In an age where many bemoan the effectiveness of preaching and lament the fall of Christianity in the West, Trygve Johnson, Dean of... Continue Reading →
"Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice." (Psalm 130:1) While 'First Glance' is usually the place where we briefly reflect on the bible passage for the upcoming week, I thought we'd do something a little different this week. Psalm 130 is a fantastic and deep psalm, but also... Continue Reading →
We did it. One year down, fifty-four to go (Lord willing). Our first pastor-versary – celebrating one year in pastoral ministry – has come and gone. We celebrated by posting on Facebook, attending a block party, and playing fairly poorly at softball. In the aftermath of the blur of our first year, I have tried... Continue Reading →
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