Month: March 2018
Philip Tallon ~ How Artists Do Theology: The Resurrection
March 31, 2018
Piero della Francesca gets thunderingly right what so many Christians get so stunning wrong. Raised on the first day of the week – a day any faithful Jew would understand as the first day of creation – God in Christ has begun the re-creation of this world. This work of making all things new is not complete, but it has begun.
Edgar Bazan ~ Remember Me: Grace Among Criminals
March 30, 2018
To be poor in spirit means to know our place in God’s creation. It is not about lacking, but about an honest assessment of our need for God.
Embracing A More Meaningful Holy Week by Kevin Watson
March 29, 2018
Observing Holy Week has had a significant impact on my life. There are many different ways I could mark my growth as a follower of Jesus Christ, but a major part of my growth as a Christian came when I started to attend Holy Week services. Attending worship on Thursday and Friday of Holy Week is a highlight of my year as a follower of Jesus. Attending these services has prepared me to celebrate – really celebrate – the news that Jesus Christ is risen.
Elizabeth Glass Turner ~ The Narrative of Evil
March 28, 2018
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.
Tom Fuerst ~ Mothers, Sons and the Crucifix
March 27, 2018
From the seven depictions of Christ’s crucifixion story, to the mother of Jesus holding her infant son as she stretched out her arms to the weeping worshipper, the entire chapel was an invitation to see our sufferings – our very humanity – in light of the fact that neither Jesus nor Mary were exempt from suffering, pain, or death.
Maxie Dunnam ~ Witness: Reflecting on Billy Graham’s Funeral
March 24, 2018
Because of his biblical and theological perspective, people often fail to reflect on how creative and innovative he was: the way he pioneered the use of radio and television; the way he harnessed print media; the role he played in launching a world-class magazine; and his influence in higher education, particularly theological education.
Jeff Rudy ~ To Be the Body of Christ
March 22, 2018
There are times when the body, that is, the church, is out of sorts too. Fractured relationships, broken trust, as Paul alludes to in his letter to the contentious Corinthians, jealousy over not getting to be the part of the body you want to be, pride – all of these and more tend to dismember us, if not in actual people leaving the church, at least in a virtual distance even if we’re in the same space to worship or to learn or to break bread. There are times where you just don’t “feel like” it…like breaking bread with him or her or them. “Ugh! I have to share at the table with them?”
Edgar Bazan ~ Transformative Mission: When the Church Malfunctions
March 21, 2018
If missio Dei is the initiative of God to redeem, bring Shalom, and heal his creation, then the church needs to reclaim its mission as the mission of God in which the church has been invited to join alongside God to accomplish God’s work from everywhere to everywhere.
Interview ~ Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett on Lent
March 19, 2018
Lent brings with it a unique dynamic that emphasizes both the individual and the communal nature of our life together.
What It Looks Like to Build Your Life God’s Way by Matt Hook
March 17, 2018
“Wake up O sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you!”