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Dividing Christ?
Near Emmaus put together a nice synopsis of recent articles regarding “liberal” and “conservative” Christianity in America. I found Ross Douthat’s piece in the New York Times to be a great read. As I have read the comments on Douthat’s page and other responses, what I have wondered about is just how far we will go as “labeled” Christians to hold…
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The Process of Discipleship and the Beauty of Communion
I wrote earlier about the process of discipleship. When it comes to obedience, we so often need to “loop” right back up to faith. Discipleship isn’t “linear.” It’s a cycle. It’s a cycle that grows, but we never “leave” a certain step or stage of the process. We build. That is the beauty of communion. It “loops” us around. We come…
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Jesus Mean and Wild
We like the “meek and mild” Jesus. The tough side of Jesus gets hidden. (Mark Driscoll reverses that, but he’s another story.) In Matthew 8 and 9 we have a lot of stories about miracles and few stories about discipleship. In Matt. 8:18-22 we have one tough lesson on discipleship. The question is basically this: “Are you here to follow,…
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The Here, the Now, the Future
Reading Matthew 24-25 always brings up the different theologies surrounding the end times, etc. This interview and post by Scot McKnight is interesting. Especially this quote: I believe heaven will be here, on earth. I believe in transformed physical existence. It will be what we have now only transformed into ideal conditions. Jesus was raised from the dead and people…
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My Blockbuster Lament
I will call it a conspiracy theory. It’s the conspiracy to drive all of us to our couches and man-caves, into isolation, and never have to interact face to face again. It is the Blockbuster Conspiracy. You can maybe get current movies on DVD at RedBox, but want to browse for and rent a somewhat older movie? Forget it. Want…
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The Sermon on the Mount and the Process of Discipleship
For years I have taught that the Sermon on the Mount is the clearest teaching on the Kingdom of God in found in one place in Scripture. Going through Matthew this time as our church prepares for Sunday, I’ve walked through the passage again to find if that still holds true as a statement for me. The pattern I have…
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Am I Conducting the Business of My Master?
Matthew 25:14-30 is the parable of the ten coins (or talents). The question I come away with in this parable is this: Am I conducting myself in the way my Master would conduct business? Have I paid enough attention to what he has said that I know how to live life while he is away? The servants all knew the master. They…
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The Bold Brash Claims of Faith
For all the years I have spent reading the Gospels, I still am blown away by the bold claims of faith. 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to…
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Building Spiritual Muscle
In Matthew 6 we get those verse that talk about trusting God for the basics of life. What to wear, what to eat, etc. Trust him. Easier said than done, I know. Wow, do I know! I live in more anxiety than I’m willing to admit! (And I happen to be admitting some, so just think…) So, how do we get to…
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In the Kingdom the Clean “Infects” the Unclean
Matthew 8 is bold. Jesus touches the leper. The rule of the day was to quarantine the “unclean” because if the “unclean” touched the “clean,” the “clean” would become infected. Jesus reverses the effect. The Kingdom is about reversal. As Dallas Willard points out, that’s the whole point of the Beatitudes. It is demonstrating that no one is beyond Kingdom…
