We will finish this series this week and we will begin [in two weeks] a series on the letter of James. But today I want to observe that Paul’s gospel can be “gospeled” or “proclaimed” through the grid of several terms. We have seen that Paul preaches the gospel of the narrative of the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and return of Christ. But Paul can also use the term “kingdom” (according to Luke’s narrative in Acts). Notice these verses,... Read more
I don’t know about you, but I think the game of knowing “why” God is doing things in this world is a presumptuous and often self-serving game to play. One thing I’ve observed is that most folks who “know” the mind of God on an event — say Katrina or 9/11 or the election of Obama — always stand on the right moral side of the judgment. In other words, the ones who think they are righteous are the ones... Read more
The single-most common quip we heard last weekend at Break Forth’s conference was this: “Why in the world would I want to go to Edmonton in January?” Confession time: when we were invited to speak at Break Forth, that was the exact expression that came out of my mouth. Now let me tell you why folks go to Edmonton in January, in spite of the high-chance that the temperature will be way below zero Fahrenheit: Break Forth! Here’s Edmonton: (more…) Read more
From Stephanie Seefeldt A Shadowed Hope It can be heard on the wind – in the words that are written,in the faces of the gathered who watch him ascend.“Change”, it says.“New.Better.More.Hope.”I see the hope. I even sense it some, and want tograsp this moment in history – to be able to say“Yes. I saw it. I watched. And I prayed.” To spend tomorrow with my African American sons,watching what is just outside their ability to understand,but is no longer outside... Read more
The “gospel” changes at Acts 1-2. One way of saying this is the proclaimer became the proclaimed one — but this misses that John preached about Jesus, too. And Jesus’ own message was self-directed. But, still, a good point to be made: the preaching shifts to redemption in Christ in a direct and clear manner. Acts 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.... Read more
Bill T. Arnold, Director of Hebrew Studies and the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary has a new commentary out, Genesis (New Cambridge Bible Commentary Series) . This commentary is described as “an innovative interpretation of one of the most profound texts of world literature: the book of Genesis. … The author of this new commentary combines older critical approaches with the latest rhetorical methodologies to yield fresh interpretations accesible to scholars, clergy, teachers,... Read more
This last weekend in our travel to Canada and back, I read lawyer and professor of law at Baylor University, Mark William Osler‘s new book Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment . There are two major highlights to this book, and I would commend it to church libraries across the land … First, instead of trying to do what he doesn’t do — biblical and historical studies — Osler examines how a lawyer sees... Read more
Someone needs to stand up and call a halt to this silliness. Perhaps I should be the one. Okay, now that I’ve got your attention, here it is: Throw away your drip coffee machine and your French Press and buy one of these AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker coffee machines and get yourself a better cup of coffee at a cheaper price. I just linked to the Amazon page for the AeroPress and it’s got more “reviews” than a Rob... Read more
We can look at a slew of references for all say basically the same thing. We’ve had some early pushbacks here so I embolden the words that make our point: preaching/gospeling. Notice these references [where the word “kerusso”/preaching/proclaiming/gospeling appears]: 1. John preached about Jesus — so his preaching focused on God’s kingdom redemption in Christ (Mark 1:7). 2. Jesus preached the kingdom of God: Mark 1:38-39, 45. 3. Jesus shared the preaching ministry with, or passed it onto, his disciples:... Read more
A Third Way approach to politics works from Christian principles to applaud what is worthy and to critique what is not. It is not tied to defending any politician on every issue or stance. I was not surprised by Obama’s decisions last week about abortion, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t speak out against them. We dare not play the game of loyalty to a party or a President. I have to admit that I was disappointed some evangelicals who... Read more
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