We are “chosen” by God—chosen to understand that faith is more than a function of cognition or will power. Being chosen starts with the heart of God and means God is deliberate with a definite outcome in mind. It means down in a place we can’t explain or control, we...
“There is no fear in love,” says the bible. Which means, Freud is wrong when he says, “…religion is simply an illusion that offers consolation.” Love casts out fear because, “…religiously serious people do not seek and do not find consolation in their faith....
There’s so much that’s good about Jesus! Because of him, in no way, am I allowed to see myself as an ultimate waste of space. Through him, I gain a perspective that everything around me is valuable…that everything is really gift. By his example, we understand...
What we believe is on display when we worship. When we worship, we use 4 pieces of Scripture. Though it’s a complicated thing, we believe God speaks through the Bible! Will Willimon says, “A congregation is Christian to the degree that it is confronted by and attempts...
Dr. King argued “the great tragedy is that Christianity failed to see that it had the revolutionary edge.” That revolutionary edge means we bring our calls for “personal piety as the true measure of Christianity into balance with the Social Gospel that has a word to...
To say the Lord is Risen doesn’t mean the work is finished. It means that God has raised Jesus from the dead. It means death doesn’t get the last word. It means God is able and good and generous. It means that there’s no horror we can create that God can’t overturn....
Yes, Good Friday is about Jesus. Yes, Good Friday is a paradigm: death does not get the last word. But, Good Friday is about something else. Good Friday is about our part in the mess. The same people who sang “Hosanna” later shouted “crucify him.” The one who ate with...
“…despite the increasing complexity and velocity of modern life, we refuse to allow the corresponding bewilderment to drive us to the blasphemy of self sufficiency or rank tribalism. You and I have been given and have accepted the high calling of...
“…despite the increasing complexity and velocity of modern life, we refuse to allow the corresponding bewilderment to drive us to the blasphemy of self sufficiency or rank tribalism. You and I have been given and have accepted the high calling of partnership...
Jesus understood soul trouble. In the midst of his trouble he didn’t pray for relief or to be saved. Amazing! He moved through his troubles with out-loud faith. Faith that caused others to believe. Trouble is the anvil where souls are forged and shaped; the soil...
