One of my favorite authors is Robert Louis Wilken. The first book of his I read is called The Spirit of Early Christian Thought, and it was mesmerizing combination of clarity, ideas and biography. Then out came The First Thousand Years, a global study of early Christianity. It was so good. Now we have a slender volume called Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom. There are probably some whack jobs who think this book is loaded for... Read more

We are looking at Michael LeFebvre’s recent book The Liturgy of Creation, and his argument that the creation week in Genesis 1 is a calendar narrative designed as a guide for faithful work and sabbath worship. He begins by looking at the calendar of the ancient world. Paul starts his letter to the Romans making the case that all peoples are aware of God: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been... Read more

By Corey Farr Our culture is obsessed with relationships. I’ve been in youth ministry for years, and I wish I could take back every time I asked a young boy, “So, you got a girlfriend yet?” or a young girl, “Do you like someone right now?” Now, I definitely don’t want to over-correct and send a naive and prudish message that those kinds of discussions are inappropriate in church. That belief causes us to fail our young people so badly... Read more

Where would I be today were it not for Elisabeth Elliot? Last week it was A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance whose large worldwide footprint was indelibly stamped on a northern Wisconsin farming community and inside the doors of a white clapboard church. My life in the 1950s and early sixties revolved around that little church. After many twists and turns in the following decades, Elliot’s footprint also profoundly influenced my life. I began my teaching... Read more

What is faith? Is it trusting someone one or something, is it cognitively knowing something, is it a general approach to life (gotta have faith), or is it what we believe (the faith)? Yes, perhaps to all. Matthew Bates, in his two books, contends faith has to be connected to allegiance and loyalty (Salvation by Allegiance Alone and Gospel Allegiance), and now along comes Nijay Gupta, in Paul and the Language of Faith, to sort it all out! We need this book.... Read more

God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Amen. BCP Read more

Our first Meandering of 2020! A white reindeer of beauty! A Christmas miracle? We think so. A Norwegian photographer spotted a rare sight while he was hiking with friends. He captured a beautiful photograph of a white reindeer calf in the mountains of northern Norway. Mads Nordsveen, 24, from Oslo, captured the magnificent creature that seemed to almost blend in and disappear against the white snow. According to the BBC, he said, “He came to me very close and we looked... Read more

  Fill out the Kingdom Roots survey here >> bit.ly/krsurvey Telling stories is fundamental to being human. Join Scot and Chaz as they explore what it looks likes to have a culture telling the most important story in history. If a church doesn’t nurture a culture where the gospel story is allowed to form the community, then living out God’s will is near impossible. Key to the kingdom taking root now is telling the story of how the Kingdom took... Read more

Early Isaiah 1-12 contains three significant passages read by the apostles, the evangelists, and the early church as messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. These passages vary in their context in Isaiah. For Isaiah 7:14-16 it is clear in context that the prophet had a contemporary in mind, likely Hezekiah, rather than a future messiah. In retrospect it was applied to Jesus, the prophet proclaimed more than he knew. In 9:6-7 it appears that there is both a contemporary subject in... Read more