Response as the Goal of All Bible Reading
I love purpose statements. I love them because I really don’t like guessing about someone’s motivation. It’s an uncomfortable place to be in. If I’m reading something someone wrote or listing to someone give a talk, I don’t want to be left wondering why they wrote what they wrote or said the things they said. I think this is partly why I like John’s gospel so much.
As the apostle John was drawing his gospel to a close, he thought it would be a good idea to make clear why he wrote it in the first place—to remove the mystery, if there was any.
Jesus and the Father Are One
Of all the things Jesus said to get himself in trouble with the religious leaders of his day (“Your sins are forgiven”, “Before Moses was, I am”, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”, etc.) what he said in John 10:30 might have been the topper.
Passion Week: Thursday - Our Last Time Together... Like This
For several years Jesus had been with his disciples almost all the time. There was little he did without them.
Passion Week: Sunday - The King Is Here
Passover was a week away. Jerusalem was beginning to grow to over 5-times its size. And a “new” king was coming to town.
A Church Called Love (Part 2): What is love?
If I say I hate asparagus, pretty much everyone knows what I mean. It means I really don't like it (which is absolutely true). Now watch what happens when I switch out asparagus for something else.
A Church Called Love (Part 1): “…but have not love.”
Burgers or pizza tonight?
What about burgers or pizza for the next 40-nights? What about for the next 10-years? Or, what about for the rest of your life?
With Just a Sentence
John Piper is fond of saying, “Books don’t change people, paragraphs do — sometimes sentences.” To his credit, he does quickly iron out this statement by explaining that he doesn’t think books are a waste of time—he’s written over 50 of them!—it’s just that it’s difficult told hold an entire thesis of a book in your head at once.
A Reason to Learn Biblical Greek (2): Preserving the Ambiguities
In general, ambiguity is uncomfortable.
A Moment on the Scriptures: The Theology of Christmas (7)
At this point in working through the Athanasian Creed, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to start thinking of Jesus as two different people or beings.