Category Archives: The Book of 1 Corinthians

What Happens When We Die, and Where are my Loved Ones?

The Afterlife: It’s probably not what you think. Jesus is something of an authority on death, and life. He’s that guy who said that he was going to die, and going to be resurrected, and then it all happened just as he said. For questions about death and life, he is an indispensable source. Unfortunately […]

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How to understand the “Two Natures of Christ”? That’s the wrong question.

The “Two Natures of Christ” The first generation of Christians had no trouble understanding that Jesus was human, and that he was also divine. Arguments only arose subsequently, when the theologians had stopped asking the right questions.

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Be ye Baptized

Be Baptized Every One Of You Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are […]

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For me, to live is Christ – Philippians 1:21

“To Live is Christ” – a bold claim. Today at church we sang “Let it be Jesus”, a beautiful song of worship (Click here to listen to it) that had me streaming tears. It occurred to me, however, that many of those singing one of the refrains, “For me, to live is Christ”, probably would […]

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Acts 17 – Paul’s address to the Athenians – That moment when God made foolish the wisdom of the world.

Paul in Athens The Book of Acts tells the story of the early church in Jerusalem, and then follows Paul’s missionary journeys. In chapter 17, Paul addresses the wise, the powerful, and the religious of Athens. What he said there is often misunderstood or misrepresented. This was, however, arguably the moment that Paul would later refer […]

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The Trumpet shall Sound, and the Dead shall be Raised – The Good News of Resurrection, Judgement, and Justice

“Do you hear what I hear?” I recently preached this message about the Resurrection, Justice, and Judgement. It focused closely on “hearing”, so this blog entry is mainly about audio. Blessed are those who have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

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A Theology of Community

God invests His Spirit in a Community It is easy to miss the Biblical emphasis on a group as the recipient of God’s promises. We, in the modern Western world, are so used to thinking in individualistic way about everything else that we have been reading the Bible primarily in that dimension for generations, and […]

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Reflections on the Trip of a Lifetime: Day 4 The Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi We headed out from Athens, and in a two hour trip we saw an amazing landscape change from cityscape, to countryside, to dramatic mountains.

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Eternity in their Eyes

  God has one Story, one Plan I recently found myself explaining to my friends why I am always so passionate and excited about what God is doing around me. It’s because I see eternity in their eyes.

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Asking the right questions about what “Son of God” means

What does it mean when Jesus says he is “Son of God”? Jesus claimed to be God’s son. He claimed to be both equal and subservient to God. This mystifies theologians today, because they find it hard to reconcile these two things. It isn’t supposed to be that hard. Let us ask not how Jesus […]

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What is Christian “Worship”?

Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth Mike_tn / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND Let’s look at where Christian worship began, what it was like then, and what it meant to the first Christians. Much has happened through subsequent church history, but how much of what we now call “worship” is directly related to what the first Christians […]

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1 Corinthians 11 – Why Head Coverings for Women? Does it apply today?

1 Corinthians 11:3-12 – The Head Coverings. Must women cover their heads to pray? Must men remove head coverings? That is what this passage says, but does it apply today?

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A journey through Handel’s “Messiah” – George Frederic Handel (1695-1759)

Messiah, G. F. Handel Welcome to my happy place: Handel’s “Messiah”. There is lots I could say about this. I could talk about the art, the theology, the subtle interpretive cues that make this a sort of “Gospel according to Handel”… But I won’t. I’ll just stand aside and put this here for you to […]

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