Christmas time seems an especially appropriate moment to reflect on: who is the wonderful person who entered our world as a little baby so long ago? The text below is from a Sunday School I did recently (apologies for the poor sound quality). I sought to answer the question above as comprehensively as I could, … [Read more…]
“You tell me God told you to move away – to leave the country! – and I’m not supposed to worry?” Imagine you were the one asking that question. Imagine that the person on the other end – the one claiming God had told them to emigrate – was a dear friend, or even a … [Read more…]
“Don’t worry, the pain is good for you.” Imagine these words being spoken to terminal cancer patients in a children’s hospital, mourners at a funeral, or separated families in a refugee camp… What would you think of a person who said such a thing? Are they naïve? Are they well-meaning but insensitive? Are they crazy? … [Read more…]
“My parents are religious, but not me…” “I don’t like organized religion…” “I’m spiritual, but not religious…” How many of us have heard words like this? Perhaps we’ve even said them ourselves? The question I’d like us to think about this week is: what if we are all more religious than we think? What if … [Read more…]
As a pastor, I have spent time with people across the full spectrum of human life. I have officiated weddings, conducted baptisms, and visited the dying. One of the things this has impressed upon me is that every life is moving in the same direction. For most of us, it’s very easy to forget that … [Read more…]
What is it that makes the gospel of Jesus Christ different from every other religion in the world? Many people today deny there is any such difference. In our modern pluralistic culture, it is frequently asserted that there really are no substantial differences between the major world religions. This is an interesting assertion, for it … [Read more…]
Today I would like us to consider together one of the most common objections to the Christian faith – the objection raised against Jesus Christ’s claim to be the only way to God. No honest person can deny that Jesus made this claim. Jesus himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the … [Read more…]
Today I would like us to consider together one of the most ridiculed claims of the Christian faith – the belief in the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. No honest person can deny that the New Testament makes this claim. All four of the Gospel accounts end with people claiming to … [Read more…]
The gospel of Jesus Christ is an identity, defined by a destiny, that overflows into activity. Previous posts have explored what it means to say that the gospel is an identity, and what it means to say that this identity is defined by a destiny. In this final post, we will unpack what it means … [Read more…]
The gospel of Jesus Christ is an identity, defined by a destiny, that overflows into activity. In part 1, we explored what it means to say that the gospel is an identity. In this post, we will unpack what it means to say that the gospel identity is defined by a destiny. “For if we … [Read more…]