Teaching Forgetable Bible Classes and Redefining Success
The world throws so much data at us that we now forget more than the average person consumed 10-20 years ago. This has a direct impact on our teaching. How many Bible classes do you specifically remember over the last 5-10 years? If your answer is, not very many, it shows us that the goal […]
Review of Rob Bell’s Love Wins (Part 4)
Chapter 2: Here is the New There This chapter had a lot more going for it than chapter one. There were a lot more moments I was in total agreement with him than I had been in the preface and in chapter one. I really like the point he was making that heaven really isn’t […]
Review of Rob Bell’s Love Wins (Part 3)
Chapter 1: What About the Flat Tire? It seems to me the purpose of this chapter is to deconstruct as many things as possible and leave the reader pretty discombobulated. Maybe that is because that is where many people already are and he is trying to resonate with people who have some of these same […]
Our Need for Downtime
I have been working on some lessons on rest over the last week or so and one of the things that hit me was how messed up our view of rest is. Rest is punishment. When you are a kid and don’t do your chores you get grounded. When you are an adult and do […]
How to Make Bible Study Practical – Perspective Issues 1
It is important, whether young or old, that we continue to tool and equip ourselves to study the Bible. So what I have to offer here on studying the Bible may be old news to some of you but hopefully there will be something for everyone. One of the driving forces in my Bible study […]
What Are We Most Upset About and What Does that Say?
There are days I am more upset that the guy in front of me is driving too slow than I am that most likely he is lost spiritually. My lack of perspective is far more damaging in a real world perspective than his driving slow could ever be. I have seen people get more upset […]
Blessed by Blogging Disagreements
There have been several posts in the last week that several people have had disagreements with. I am really happy about that. The reason is not because I like disagreement but because people have been so kind. Usually when people on blogs or websites disagree there is this kind of slow-motion shouting match that takes […]
The Problem With Culturally Defined Truth
A few things that were once considered culturally acceptable by various groups: Slavery The Crusades Killing infants by exposure (leaving them to die) Murdering Jews Segregation The list could go a lot further than that but the point is, at some point in time there were large groups of people found these things socially and […]
God’s 53 Questions
I am sure you remember the story well. Job was an upright man. Satan thought Job only worshipped God because he had it made. So God allowed all Job had to be taken away in order to find out if man would serve God only because of God’s blessing or because God is God. Job […]
The Significance of Ceremony – Joshua 24
In Joshua 24 you have a renewal of Israel’s covenant with God just prior to Joshua’s death. Some covenants in the ancient world were done in a very specific way. We see that pattern reflected in Joshua 24. The Hittites (who are mentioned in the chapter) had a form of covenant called the Suzerain-Vassal treaty […]