What The Incarnation of Christ Teaches Us and Does To Us
Preaching, teaching or writing on the incarnation of Christ usually focuses on the Gospels. There is another verse that I think has so much to teach us about the incarnation and it comes from the Apostle Paul in Colossians. Paul appears to be addressing some false teaching in Colossae about the nature of Christ to […]
Baptism – Immersion, Sprinkling, and Pouring
Word meanings can change over time. Today, baptism has become a general term within Christianity that encompasses sprinkling, pouring and immersing but only the latter is accurate to the Greek meaning of the word “baptism” in the New Testament and practice of the early church. If you doubt that please read the previous post, consult […]
The Passion of the Christ
Missy and I are studying the Gospel of Luke with some friends and we decided that as we concluded the study we would watch the Passion of the Christ again. It had been a while since I watched it last. While I remembered a lot of it very well there were a few things that […]
Getting to Know the Holy Spirit
Can you imagine trying to describe your neighbor to someone if you had never seen your neighbor before? Not only that you pretty much figured that while they lived there you never would actually see them in the flesh. What is more you had never actually had a conversation with them either. You know they […]
Have You Ever Been Investigated?
I was just reading John 9 where Jesus heals a man born blind. What Jesus did was so amazing and unbelievable that the Pharisees began an investigation. It got me wondering if I have ever done anything that got people really asking questions. Now one time I posted some links to the Nooma materials online that […]
Does Obedience Get a Bad Rap?
I don’t believe anyone can make an honest case for works righteousness, meaning we can do enough good things to merit or earn our salvation. Paul and Jesus both kill that one outright. But what is interesting is that both of them still thought obedience was important. When Jesus finished the sermon on the mount […]
Eye For An Eye and Jesus’ Savvy
I never competed in a spelling bee but it was news to me that savvy had two v’s. Anyway, Matthew 5:38-42 is so chocked full of savvy that it isn’t even funny. 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist […]
Discipleship, Acceptance and Grace
20 times in the Gospels Jesus says, “Follow me.” Is there any greater invitation in all of scripture than for the Son of God to invite sinful men to walk in his steps? As has been said a million times on a million websites, discipleship is about following Jesus Christ. What hit me about discipleship […]
Jesus – Grace and Truth
In the last post about Bible classes on grace, Charlie (who is a good friend of mine) astutely observed that Jesus is never recorded using that word in the Gospels. That is an interesting observation and one that I haven’t ever noticed before. He certainly embodied it in the way he lived his life and […]
Jerry Starling on Maturity in Following Jesus
Jerry gives us some insights about discipleship that I think sum things up quite well for Christians today. In a nutshell he says some Christians are following boy Jesus in the temple. The content of his childhood ministry was discussing the text with other like-minded people. From their his ministry grew. It went from talking […]