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Lent Liturgical Calendar Recent Posts

Lent and Human Limitations

I often always tell people the best spiritual thing they could do is get a good night’s sleep.   Sleep is a necessary limitation to human striving, to the pride of achievement, or of the folly of wasted time.  Eventually we have to sleep. And I hate that.  I find it hard to take my own […]

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ecclecia ecclesiology evangelical Jesus Christ Recent Posts

The Un-Household Codes

Misogynists? Was Paul faithlessly capitulating to the social norms of his day? Was Paul really a supporter of subjugating women in the home? Was Peter again reverting to his old ways when he offers commands to wives? Were these stalwarts of the faith hopelessly captive to their culture? This is often how we react when […]

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Make Tradition, Not War

I’m working on my notes for my DMIN class at Northern Seminary, and I just added this text for my lecture on tradition.  Here Paul is not just mentioning that he is passing on what he has recieved, but commands Timothy to continue this process, the process of traditioning.  Or, rather, be a “traditionator”!. 2 […]

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Epiphany Prodigal Christianity Recent Posts theology

Abundance and Access: Eternal Life in John

I’m working on my sermon on John 3:1-21, which covers the ‘born-again’ conversation with Nicodemus to the famous “for God so loved the world” verse. But neither of these themes should be disconnected from the two episodes covered in John 2.  There Jesus first turns water into wine, and then goes on to clear the […]

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Christology Jesus Jesus Christ Recent Posts theology

Christology of the Temple: in Heaven and on Earth

Temple Christology So I’ve been reflecting on N.T. Wright’s claim that Christology should properly begin with an understand of the Temple as the initial place of God’s dwelling on earth, of the union of heaven and earth (I believe this is in Simply Jesus, but I don’t have it in front of me right now). […]

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evangelical Recent Posts theology

Theology of Scripture?

I’ve been reading two books on a theology of Scripture in order to beef up my class on “Biblical and Theology Reflections on Ministry and Culture” (what a mouthful, not my title) at Northern Seminary (their MDim program). They are both from a more Reformed perspective, for what it is worth. “Words of Life” is […]

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We are Worthless Slaves?

Jesus doesn’t seem very nice when he says stuff like this.  Some help please. Luke: 17:7 “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper […]

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Advent Recent Posts

God With Us, #1: From Garden to Garden.

The season of Advent prompts me to think on the coming of Christ, of Immanuel, God with us.  It makes me think of the deep mysteries of the Incarnation and the doctrine of Christology (that Christ is both God and human).  And yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, the day in which we remember […]

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evangelical evangelicalism Recent Posts

Why am I so Grumpy? (about evangelical history)

Late last week someone accused me of being grumpy about evangelical history (I’ve been writing about it here and here). Well, beyond the reason that I’ve already stated, here are a couple of reasons that get under my skin. First off, I’m part of a historically Holiness (though non-Wesleyan) denomination (the Christian and Missioary Alliance) […]

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ecclecia ecclesiology God Jesus Christ Prodigal Christianity Recent Posts theology

More Than Splitting the Difference: Missio Dei (a)

So often we want to jump right into joining God’s mission because we feel we already know what God’s mission is.  But before even asking, “What is God’s mission?” we need to ask, “Who is this God on mission?” and “How does God go about this mission?” Is God distant? Is God everywhere? These are […]