Gospel of John 20 – The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the […]
The Crucifixion of Christ
We don’t like to leave Christ on the cross for very long. Our theology often gets in a rush to the resurrection. But the resurrection lacks its own possibility if you exclude the crucifixion of Christ. Anyone who has watched the movie The Passion of the Christ was moved by the brutality of what Jesus […]
Gospel of John 14:5-14 – Way, Truth, Life and Exclusivity of Jesus Christ
In John 13-14 Jesus is revealing things to his disciples about what is going to happen and where he is going to have to go. These are important considerations if you are a follower, a disciple because where the master goes so go the disciples. In John 14:4 Jesus tells them, “You know the way […]
Ten Reflections on the Importance of Scripture
I really do love the Bible. It has meant so much to me in both the peaks and the valleys of life. It is like a long standing relationship that just gets better and better with age. I have had the times when the Bible fell open to just the right text at just the […]
Attractional or Distractional – Part 2
The Attractive Draw of the Cross: When I watched the crucifixion seen in the Passion of the Christ I had to force myself to keep my eyes glued to the screen. I didn’t want to see all the blood and violence but I figured if Christ endured it, I can at least witness it. On […]
Attractional or Distractional – Part 1
We hear a lot about attractional models of worship, evangelism, and all the rest “doing church.” I wonder at what point attractional becomes distractional. Moving Away from Worship as Penance: I don’t want you to mishear me here. I am not trying to say the duller and more irrelevant our worship services are the more […]
John 9 – Mud in the Eyes Christians
After reading and re-reading the story of the man born blind in John 9 today I am struck by the power and authority of Jesus combined with the blind man’s willing obedience. Our faith is a partnership of unequals. We can’t even take credit for listening and doing because without his command we wouldn’t have […]
Gospel of John 8:12-59 – Jesus Gets Testy
John 8:12-59 contains some of the best known lines in John but they aren’t said to a loving, accepting mob of fervent believers. They are spoken to a mostly obnoxious and rebellious group in Jerusalem. In 8:12 Jesus says he is the light of the world. One of the great “I am” statements and one […]
Gospel of John 4:43-54 A Big Request
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. 46Once more […]
Gospel of John 1:19-28 Who is John the Baptist?
I just love this picture of John the Baptist. His posture looks intense but his expression looks pretty bored. It reminds me of a passion play we saw last Easter. John the Baptist went down in the Jordan to baptize Jesus, not realizing his wireless was on he said, “@#*% this water is hot!” The […]