April 2, 2015 Year B (Maundy Thursday of Holy Week) John 13:31-35 Jesus spends time with His disciples one last time. He talks about how He will be glorified and give the Father glory. He predicts that He will soon leave, and then He leaves them a command: “Love one another.” He calls us to love others just as He loved us. He said that this kind of love will define us. This kind of love will help other people... Read more
April 1, 2015 Year B (Wednesday of Holy Week) John 13:21-30 Today is April Fool’s Day. On this day, people play pranks on one another. It comes from the custom of tricking someone. The one who performs the trick is the fox. The one who is tricked becomes the fool. In this Gospel narrative, one could compare this event between Judas and Jesus as an April Fool’s event. Judas is the fox who outsmarts and tricks Jesus through betrayal. Of... Read more
What Every Christian Should Know About Islam by Rob Phillips What Every Christian Should Know About Islam by Rob Philips touts itself with the subtitle: A Primer on the Muslim Faith from a Biblical Worldview. In Chapter 1, Phillips provides an excellent overview of the religion of Islam. In the overview, he covers the history of the religion, as well as the different sects of Islam (Sunni and Shi’ite). He explains what they believe as well as their source of... Read more
Sacramental Politics by Brian Kaylor Sacramental Politics by Brian Kaylor is a unique look into the intersection between politics and religious practice. In this book, Kaylor thoroughly explores how religion impacts politics. He first explores how prayers are both a religious and political act (36). He compares and contrasts how both political parties use religious terms in political speeches (41). He shares how the presidential nomination convention take on a religious nature (44-46). Kaylor notes that the prayers served similar... Read more
1 Timothy 3:14-16 – Spiritual Bridges In many of the adventures of both westerns and science fiction, a hero has taken time to get help from his associates. He builds these friendships. The Lone Ranger has Tonto. Luke Skywalker has Han Solo. Gandalf has the Fellowship of the Ring. They spend time developing their skills and building their relationship before they set out on the adventure. At some point, they pass a bridge from their time of friendship building to... Read more
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), the fifth movie with the original cast, is about a prophet’s quest to find God. The crew of the USS Enterprise are sent to Nimbus III, the “Planet of Galactic Peace.” Sybok, a renegade Vulcan has taken the Klingon, Romulan, and human diplomats hostage. Once the crew arrives, Sybok manipulates the crew to take him to where he believes God exists. He takes then Sh Ka... Read more
The International Pastor Experience by David Packer The International Pastor Experience by David Packer (who edited the book) is a practical collection of perspectives that show the potential and reveal some of the challenges of leading a multicultural or military church overseas. The book contains articles from different pastors from international English-speaking churches, primarily from the International Baptist Convention. Chapters in the book include the following titles: “The Future of International Churches” by Dr. Jimmy Martin, General Secretary of the... Read more
Psalm 22:22-28 PRAISE God! Have you ever experienced a great sports game? Whether it was live in the audience or on television, you were probably cheering for your team to win. If your team was losing, you’d show loyalty by your presence. You would praise them when they did good, and you would wish them well the next time. How did you feel when they were winning? You were excited. You hooped and hollered. You shouted out your praise for... Read more
Beat Is Beatitude by Andrew William SmithBeat Is Beatitude by Andrew William Smith is a book containing poems, prayers, and sermons. He comes with a Presbyterian emergent theological mindset. That theological orientation strongly influences his work. He starts off by reminding himself that not everyone in the South has the same progressive Christian mindset. Aside from this, the book has a set of poems and prayers which were interesting to read. I personally did not agree with everything in... Read more
Bold Praying to the Great High Priest March 20, 2015 Year B Hebrews 4:14-16 Have you ever prayed bold prayers? Have you ever asked God something so impossible that you thought He would never answer? That is the challenge from this verse. Jesus is now the Great High Priest in Heaven. Just as God listened to the High Priest from Israel about the sins of the people, God now listens to Jesus as He forgives our sins. That is our... Read more
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