Category: Culture

  • Dan

    The Patriarchs, the Maccabeans, and Us

    There has been a strange interweaving of stories in the past few days in my life. Over the past week I have studied I Maccabees in the Apocrypha and preached on Hanukkah and the Maccabean Revolt. I posted earlier on lessons learned from Mattathias and the Maccabeans. Then, I was given this link from a friend. It is the story…

  • Dan

    Taking Our Stand

    This past Sunday was my attempt at preaching from the Apocrypha. I used I Maccabees as my text, re-telling the story of the Maccabean Revolt and introducing the story of Hanukkah. In the story was the lesson of Mattathias. I have become fascinated by his incredible faith and boldness. When his village was confronted with sacrificing a desecrated offering or…

  • Dan

    Are We a Burden?

    Announcing my weak attempt to preach from the Apocrypha elicited some wonderful responses. One text sent was a prophetic/Messianic text from the Wisdom of Solomon. It understand it can be taken as Messianic, but the passage (Wisdom 2:12-20) begins with, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man…” It is a passage speaking of the wicked who are tired…

  • Dan

    Paying attention to the world

    At one point in time I remember reading that living prophetically as a Christian is having a Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other. Well, both are readily available online, so maybe our hands are freed up to raise them to God in intercession. But we MUST pay attention to our world. There are things happening where we…

  • Dan

    Is Jesus THE Way?

    A recent post over at ScriptureZealot stirred my thinking. Some of the more incendiary comments have since been edited out, but it stirs me nonetheless. It raised the specter of hard-line Calvinism simply saying, “If you don’t believe in TULIP (and some very specific tenets of Calvinism) then you are preaching another gospel.” That’s the subtle undertone of the piece…

  • Dan

    The Twitter Gospel

    Philip Yancey will usually make me mad and glad all in one column. He does it again in his last CT column. (He says he’s taking a break.) He adds some thoughts and cautions we REALLY need to hear! (I don’t think we will, but I can only echo his strong voice.) Although I admire the innovation, I would caution…

  • Dan

    Thoughts About “Icons”

    Recent blog activity has been caught up in a discussion over the Manhattan Declaration. This is a statement coming from Catholics, Orthodox, and Evangelicals concerning three major points about our current culture in America. The debate is over whether this is just some right wing political move or it’s legitimate. Some of the disagreement comes down to theology. How can…

  • Dan

    News Round Up

    We get the doomsday forecasts so we are ready for self-preservation. We get the middle of the night votes from the Senate. No biggie there. The House did it a couple of weeks ago. Will anyone EVER read those monstrous bills? I bet the good senator from Louisiana may not read all of it, but she has a few paragraphs…

  • Dan

    Developing Thoughts

    Following up on my earlier thoughts about Acts 19, I have some other thoughts I want to put down and see if they can be developed. I would LOVE a conversation developed as well. My thoughts come from Acts 19 and then Ephesians 3:2-13. Both deal with the Ephesian church, ironically. In Ephesians 3 there is the powerful knowledge that…

  • Dan

    The Gospel Impacts an Economy

    The gospel in Ephesus (Acts 19) impacted the economy. The silver trade felt the loss of those turning to Christ. Sales were down. The economy shifted. What kind of impact would a true move of God have in your community?