To read this post click here: Good news 2.1 Story About this series of reflections . . . Names had meaning in that culture. Zechariah means “God remembers.” Abijah means “God is my Father.” Elizabeth means “God is my promise.” The names themselves are introducing us to the kind of God who is making […]
To read this post click here: Good News 1.2 John 1 About this series of reflections First, the Meaning already was. And Meaning was inseparable from God, who already was. And Meaning was this God who already was. Meaning is a Person, and He was inseparable from God from the first. Everything was made through […]
Good News 1.1 Gen 1 About this series of reflections . . . God was going to begin something with that formless, silent stuff. He was going to give shape to a place, and He was going to give movement to the lifeless. We get our first orientation from our surroundings, and from the experience […]
To read this reflection on the Lord’s Prayer click here: Kingdom Conversation . . . Do we initiate anything, or does everything simply happen to us? What if those are not the only options? What if neither of those accurately describes the relationship into which God calls us? What if we need a middle voice in which […]
To read this reflection on Mark 4 and Matthew 13 click here: Kingdom Living Here’s the challenge, Jesus seems to be saying: Whenever I start talking about the Kingdom, you start picturing earthly kingdoms of industry, weaponry and political power (Right-handed power). When I call it the Kingdom of Heaven, you start picturing a far-off […]
To read this reflection go to Bible Studies or click the link below. http://www.jackofalltribes.com/bible-studies/what-kind-of-kingdom-does-jesus-reveal/ photo by:
The Story of Halloween Some people pit Halloween against Christianity, as if they were opposing political parties vying for votes. But history is not that simplistic. Halloween as we know it is a blend of folk traditions and economic opportunities. Ancient Celtic peoples in Europe had four primary holidays marking the beginning of spring (fertility […]
To read, click here: Defensive Thinking . . . Jesus is not standing on the sidelines with a clipboard grading us on our failures. We default in that direction, but Jesus doesn’t. He gave fair and blunt warning to the teachers of the law that continuing down that path does not get you to Heaven. […]
To read this post click here: Trouble with Grace part 2 . . . Applying the muscle is the best way to get some things done. (“Sure, power corrupts,” Jack Handey says, “but it also provides for our electrical needs.”) Sometimes directly attacking a problem is most effective. But not always, and especially not when […]
Honor and Shame: How culture limits our understanding and ability to communicate the good news How do different cultures shape the way people think? How can we better understand their way of thinking in order to clearly communicate the gospel to them? How does the Bible itself speak in cultural terms different from our […]
