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The City Bus and the Church
The chapel message I preached at North Central University.
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Justice
Scot McKnight is going through Tim Keller’s new book, City Church, over at Jesus Creed. McKnight offers a critique on Keller’s use of “justice” that I find interesting. When it comes to church and culture, I have had my thinking changed over the years. When I was growing up, it was the thick of the pro-life movement. I lived in Kansas at…
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A Requiem for the Twinkie
The mighty Twinkie could last through a nuclear war, but the company that made them could not. The company could not keep up with pension costs, plus healthcare costs for their employees. (The healthcare costs probably weren’t related to too much consumption of their own product.) Anyone remember the baseball trading cards we used to get on the bottom of the boxes?…
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Enemies of the American Church
There are some huge gorillas in the room we don’t like to talk about when it comes to enemies of the Church in the U.S. These gorillas actually make us our own worst enemies. Tony Campolo has some insight on one: I have heard a lot of teachers condemn the secular humanism of our world. The truth is that secular…
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The True Impact of the Gospel
I am preaching on Acts 19 this morning. It is one of my favorite passages of Scripture. In this text I find hope for the Church. It is not a matter of political power. Rome was in power and no one could elect anyone, at least as emperor. But 12 people impact a city and a region. Lives were radically…
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A Prayer for the President, and All Our Leaders
1 Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. 2 May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. (Ps. 72:1-2, NIV) And a prayer for the mission of the Church: Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers…
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Two Americas, One Kingdom
President Barack Obama has won four more years. As believers, we pray for our leaders. Good, bad, indifferent on this election, our call is clear. We pray for our leaders. As I listened to commentators (who obviously know so much) they spoke of two Americas that are forming. That is too bad. It may be true, but it is too…
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The Broken Promises of Humanity and the Majesty of Our God
Today’s reading was once again out of the Deuterocanonical Books. I have found the Common English Bible to be a great help in reading a portion of text I am unfamiliar with in my tradition. It keeps me aware of the importance of good translations that are easier to read. Sirach 43 is a tribute to the incredible majesty of…
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The “What ifs” of the Marriage Amendment
We have an election this week. Just thought you would like to know. In Minnesota, we have a couple of highly controversial amendments on the ballot. 1. Voter ID It is the call for everyone casting a ballot to have a valid ID so we can assure valid elections. 2. The definition of marriage If it passes, it shall put…
Category: Culture
