Living in Harmony April 9, 2015 Year B Psalm 133:1-3 David reflects here on how great it feels when people live together in harmony. It is a joy when people work and live together in harmony. David compares this harmony to the dew that flows down from the highest mountain to Jerusalem. He also compares it to the oil which flows from the anointing of the priest down his beard and onto his robe. The fragrance of both the dew... Read more
What I Learned From My Facebook Fast 2015 I recently took a fast from Facebook for forty days during Lent. I did this for two reasons. First, I wanted to spend more time in prayer for our church’s upcoming revival. Second, I felt that flipping through Facebook (mostly on my phone) was preventing me from doing some other important work. So I decided to fast during Lent from Facebook. Here are five things I learned from this experience: 1.... Read more
Jesus, His Prayers, and God’s Perfecting Process April 3, 2015 Year B (Good Friday of Holy Week) Hebrews 5:7-10 Sometimes my prayers don’t get the answered the way I want because God wants to teach me and change me through obedience. In this section, the writer of Hebrews recalls a time during the life of Jesus when He prayed for deliverance from the cross. This prayer was given three times in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He was arrested.... Read more
Prophecy Watch: Arab Army There are many developments which have occurred over a series of months: Iran’s desire to continue its march toward nuclear power and a possible nuclear arsenal. Palestinian Authority makes more effort to get a two-state solution in Israel. ISIS continues its march across Syria and Iraq. The relationship between Israel and its partner United States continues to move apart. The overthrow of the Yemen government by the Houthi rebels. In the midst of these events,... Read more
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
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