A Bookish Approach To The Bible

I was preaching/teaching through Revelation on Sunday nights. We had just looked at the first part of chapter 21 and talked about how although this text is commonly applied to heaven, it’s really about the exalted church that has just been delivered from Roman oppression. On the way home Janice made the comment, “That’s really not that hard to see ifContinue reading “A Bookish Approach To The Bible”

Community and Communion

What happened in Eden did more than alienate us from God—we became estranged from each other! Redemption then is not only about us coming back to God, it is about us coming back to one other. The church as the body of Christ is the community of the reconciled, composed of people who belong toContinue reading “Community and Communion”

Entering the Arena for Christ

In the series Rome, Titus Pullo is a proud soldier of Rome’s Thirteenth Legion. But the time comes when there are no more wars to fight and he descends into a life of cold-blooded, mercenary killing. When he is captured and condemned to die in the arena for his crimes, he is resigned if not relieved, in regardContinue reading “Entering the Arena for Christ”

War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds was written by H. G. Wells in 1898. Though it hardly raises an eyebrow by today’s standards, it was pretty heady stuff then. England was at the height of its imperialism and creatures from another planet would be considered about the only qualified candidates to take down the Empire. Scientists were speculatingContinue reading “War of the Worlds”

Love and Spaghetti Trees

It was several years ago that the BBC ran a piece about a bumper spaghetti crop in Switzerland. There had been a confluence of ideal conditions for the Swiss farmers:  a mild winter, the nefarious spaghetti weevil was practically non-existent that particular year, and the Swiss, long known for their precision, had developed a strain of spaghettiContinue reading “Love and Spaghetti Trees”

Getting Started in 2 Thessalonians

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was written not long after his first one. It’s brief (47 verses) but has at least three objectives. The one that usually gets the most attention has to do with his desire to correct the mistaken view some had formed regarding the return of Jesus (2:1ff). Paul’s subsequent discussionContinue reading “Getting Started in 2 Thessalonians”

Celebrities or Servants?

I caught the last snippet of a commercial where someone was identified as a celebrity landscaper. Well of course—why just be a landscaper when you can be a celebrity landscaper? The possibilities are endless: celebrity school teacher, celebrity pharmacist, celebrity construction worker. And let’s not forget the kids—we can have celebrity teenagers, celebrity children, and celebrityContinue reading “Celebrities or Servants?”