Author Archives: A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green

Clean, Bright & New

I hope the past year has gone well for you and that the new one will be even better. I think New Year’s Day is a great holiday. It tends to get the short end of the attention stick because it comes right after Christmas and is, in many ways, overshadowed by it. (After all,Continue reading “Clean, Bright & New”

Shaped by the Story

We are all shaped by stories, aren’t we? A tender-hearted teenager hears a speaker talk about their work as a medical missionary and they decide right then and there that’s what they want to do with their life. Someone else reads a biography of a Navy Seal and thinks, “That’s for me!” This kind ofContinue reading “Shaped by the Story”

Better Days Are Coming (Places in the Heart)

Places in the Heart is the movie that won Sally Field her second Oscar. It’s the story of the Spalding family: Edna, her husband Royce, son Frank, and daughter, Possum (seriously, she’s never referred to in any other way in the movie). They live in a small town in Texas during the Depression years of theContinue reading “Better Days Are Coming (Places in the Heart)”

Keeping It Safe (The Book Of Eli)

The Book of Eli covers the familiar ground of post-apocalyptic movies: bleak new world, humanity’s descent into savagery, and the struggle for scarce resources (with goodness being the rarest). Where it is different is that it has a decidedly spiritual/Christian element to it. And with Hollywood, you’re never quite sure where that is going to lead.Continue reading “Keeping It Safe (The Book Of Eli)”

What Makes a Church Special?

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Paul to the Ephesians in 1:16 of his letter.  Here’s one of those verses that’s easy to rush right past. It’s not hard to think of Paul’s statement as being the first century equivalent of asking someone today, ”How are you doing.” We don’tContinue reading “What Makes a Church Special?”

Jesus And Virtue Signaling

Dictionary.com defines virtue signaling as “the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.” Although social media has certainly provided the means for this to be done on a larger scale than ever before, there is absolutelyContinue reading “Jesus And Virtue Signaling”

The Walk of Life (3)

Paul has more to say about the disciples’ walk in Ephesians 5. He begins by telling us we are to “walk in the way of love” (v. 2). Love has a way (1 Corinthians 13:1-8) and despite what popular culture tells us,  it has very little to do with our feelings. If you look Paul’s listContinue reading “The Walk of Life (3)”

The Walk of Life (4)

They had known each other since they were ten years old. They went to the same school, grew up in the same neighborhood, played ball together, spent the night at each other’s house, and did all the other things that good friends do. Somewhere in their early to mid-teens, they began to drift apart. SomeContinue reading “The Walk of Life (4)”