The Olivet Discourse was a prophetic conversation that Jesus had with his closest followers. From where they would have been sitting, they faced one of the most beautiful buildings in the world at the time, the Temple that had been reconstructed by Herod the Great.[1] Jesus noticed that they were impressed by the structure and He said: As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you... Read more
Over the past months I have been doing some reflection on how Christians have understood the value of the planet and the rest of creation. As I have wrestled with this, Christopher J.H. Wright’s book, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative, engaged this even further. The fresh insight that I received came with understanding that creation care can be Christian mission all on its own, and need not be driven by a human need. For instance, it... Read more
So last night I was in a class at seminary called, The Gospel of Luke. I have enjoyed the class and love what my teacher has to say about this great book of the bible. Now, here’s the deal, yesterday we watched part of the Jesus Film. Now I know this film has had an amazing impact in the world, especially for missionaries in indigenous areas, but what my buddies and I kept on noticing was that there was Monty... Read more
I have been in a series of posts describing the title of this blog: Groans From Within. A foundational belief that I have and express regularly is that salvation extends to the whole created order, not merely the ‘souls’ of Christians. The text that expresses this is Romans 8.19-27. What I have been arguing is that heaven is not the final state of the Christian, but a renewed universe is. In order to address this, I am looking at some... Read more
UPDATE Check out the audio to this lecture at: Parables of a Prodigal World _____________________________________________ ORIGINAL POST This past Thursday night I had a unique opportunity that I have been hoping would come for quite some time. I got to both listen to and meet N.T. Wright! My friends and I arrived early to ensure that our 3 hour drive would be worth it. We got a seat in the 5th row and listened to the man whose writings and... Read more
Several days ago I began a discussion on the title: “Groans From Within.” Many in the church have misrepresented key passages of Scripture that are often thought to refer to a disembodied afterlife. A passage in the bible that is often misinterpreted is found at the end of Philippians chapter 3. The key phrase in this passage states, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Moffatt translates this as: “we are a colony of heaven.”[1] This passage of Scripture has been read as having... Read more
I have been asked by author Lois Tverberg to review her forthcoming book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus can Transform Your Faith. This is quite the honor to be asked by the author herself, especially in an area that has taken up much of my time in the recent weeks! Over the next few weeks, I will be writing up reviews on each chapter of the book. I am also excited to note... Read more
Click to Play (Right click and ‘save target as’) Message given by Kurt in a series titled, Backstory. February 15, 2009. This is a message that I gave in the close of series in my local church. I was honored for the oppertunity that I was given and believe that God was honored in the process. If you would like, feel free to download this and give me your thoughts! This message is the result of hours of study, especially... Read more
Many of the people who frequent my blog have probably wondered what the title actually means. Groans From Within describes what it means to be a person who is led by the Spirit while living in a world that is broken. The Spirit groans within Christ-followers, causing us to empathize with the groaning of creation. This theme is found in Romans 8… 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up... Read more
UPDATE: Feb 9, 09 Lois Tverberg is in the process of changing to a new website. Check it out here: www.OurRabbiJesus.com ____________________________________________________ ORIGINAL POST: I am excited to have found Lois Tverberg’s blog! If you are not sure who she is, she is the founder of engedi resources (http://www.egrc.net/). Her latest post gives a defense of calling Jesus, “rabbi.” This is a topic that has come up in the last couple weeks as I have been studying Jesus in his... Read more
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