Theology
-
Daring to Speak of Heaven
The first of four reflections on the vision of heaven in Revelation 4-5 Continue reading
-
The Paradox of Maundy Thursday
Thursday of holy week is traditionally known as Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” comes from the Latin translation of John 13:34: “Mandatum novum do vobis…”, “a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (ESV). As Jesus said this, if you remember, he bowed down Continue reading
-
Fig Tuesday
Today in the Christian calendar is “Fig Tuesday”, traditionally a day when we remember Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree (Matt 21:18-22). If you remember the story, Jesus was walking from Bethany and came across a fig tree. He was hungry, and hoped to find a fig to munch on, but instead he found nothing Continue reading
-
Sex and “Purity Culture”
How One Youth Pastor Teaches Sexuality to Youth About two years ago, I met with most of the parents of our youth at our church. The reason I’d gathered them was because of our upcoming youth group series on sexuality, entitled God and My Sexuality. I knew there’d be questions, but I also knew the situation was Continue reading
-
Video Games, Vengeance, and the Gospel
This is my first post in a while… and it’s about something that is out of the norm for me. One thing you may not know about me is that I am a big fan of video games, especially games with narrative and intriguing plot. Video games were a huge part of my childhood, from Continue reading
-
Rest
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 Often, when looking at the beatitudes, we focus on the first part of the statement and forget the conclusion. We agree that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed. But catch the result: “they shall be satisfied.” Continue reading
-
Luther’s Theology of the Cross Part 3
[This is the third and final part of a summary of McGrath’s excellent book Luther’s Theology of the Cross.] [For the first part in the series, click here.] [For the second part in the series, click here.] Over the last semester, I have been digging into the question: how is it that we do theology? What makes it possible? In Continue reading
-
CRUX sola est nostra theologia! Part Two
[This is part Two of a series on Alister McGrath’s great book, Luther’s Theology of the Cross] In the last post I attempted to summarize McGrath’s research regarding the theological background in which Luther operated. McGrath argues strongly that Luther, between 1509-1514, was operating as “a later Medieval theologian,” (chapter 3), and that his thoughts regarding Continue reading
-
CRUX sola est nostra theologia! Part One
So I just finished reading Alister McGrath’s wonderful work Luther’s Theology of the Cross. I had wanted to read this book ever since I became a fan of McGrath’s work, having read through both his Christian Theology and Historical Theology, respectively. Yet, when in the midst of temptation I went to Amazon.com and looked it up, it was revealed that it was a Continue reading
-
God of the Tangibles
There aren’t many things in life I enjoy more than holding my wife’s hand. Her small hand fits right into my palm, and I can feel her fingers over mine. I smile with the thought of it, and through many of the things we have faced together this small, loving touch has meant more than Continue reading
Revival and Renewal 