Marriage, Human Sexuality, & the Body: The Meaning of Our Original Nakedness by Timothy Tennent

November 30, 2015

The utilitarian vision sees the body of a man or woman as an object which can be assessed like a car. Is it bright, new, shiny and full of power, or not? Is your body thin or fat; does it conform to the shapes we admire or not; is your hair the right texture and color or not; are your teeth shiny and straight or not? In the covenantal vision, the mystery and glory is that we have bodies, and those bodies are beautiful to God because they are living sacraments in the world, an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace, since all of the means of grace come through the physicality of the body.

A Cold and Broken Thanksgiving by Elizabeth Glass Turner

November 25, 2015

Your year flashes in bits and pieces in front of your mind and you search for a socially appropriate response that doesn’t include “good medical attention after a miscarriage” or “pro bono lawyers” or “insightful marriage and family therapists.”

Pass the stuffing.

From Projects To People: Serving With Christ’s Heart by Andy Stoddard

November 23, 2015

To get a better picture of Jesus, let’s look at two stories together, Mark 10:32-34 and then verses 35-45: They…

Advice for Young Preachers by Michael Smith

November 19, 2015

Listening to good preachers should inspire us to sharpen our skills (and not just borrow material).

What Heritage Do You Choose to Pass On? by Carrie Carter

November 18, 2015

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words…

Then Face to Face: Remembering Ellsworth Kalas by Harley Scalf

November 16, 2015

“There is only one Sunday that matters – this one – and only one sermon to be preached – this one. So fall in love with this sermon.”

The Narrative of Evil by Elizabeth Glass Turner

November 14, 2015

We are not at the mercy of terrorists. They are at our mercy as we live in flesh and blood and bone the loving mercy of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel-God-With-Us, who was and is and is to come. As the orange-suited martyrs cried to Jesus on their sandy beach deathbeds, evil crumpled. They have no power over Jesus Christ, they have no power over the world to come, they have no power over your soul.

IKEA Discovers the Secret to Evangelism by Kim Reisman

November 12, 2015

But when we share faith with others, we don’t tell them what they should believe. We tell them what we believe – and more importantly, who we trust, which brings us once again to relationship.

Infant Baptism and Beyond: A Systematic Approach (Part IV) by Ken Loyer

November 11, 2015

I have found that this is a good way to keep before the family and the child the meaning of baptism and to remind the parents of the promise they made to God during the baptism to do all they can to raise their child in the faith.

The Binary Eucharist by Elizabeth Glass Turner

November 5, 2015

The Body of Christ can’t be reduced to a series of zeros and ones. This is why a nursing home resident may watch sermons on their television but still ask to be wheeled down to the weekly worship service in the multipurpose room. This is why that same resident may request that their pastor bring them communion occasionally.