I try not to think too much about “the real meaning of Christmas”—the incarnation event, the Word made flesh, the baby in the manger—until just after the fourth Sunday of Advent. Don’t freak out on me.
Connections 11.03.2019: A Just and Merciful God
October 27, 2019 by
I’m one of those people who has a hard time reading about the judgment of God. There’s plenty of it in the Old Testament, but I tend to think of the New Testament as being more about mercy.
Connections 10.22.2017: Steadfastness of Hope
October 15, 2017 by
To me, it’s one of the most beautiful words in the English language. Its French, Spanish, and Italian forms are beautiful too: esperer, esperanza, speranza. Hope means much more to me than wishful thinking or unmet desires. It is a lifeline keeping me afloat in a world that is often disappointing and frightening.
Formations 09.25.2016: Hope in Christ’s Appearing
September 18, 2016 by
In the religious circles I tend to run in, there are a lot of people who grew up in churches that were saturated with the teachings purported experts on end-times prophecy. They grew up with that kind of theology, but somewhere along the way, that theology got, well, left behind.
Formations 09.18.2016: Holiness
September 11, 2016 by
They told us to find something holy. We went up and took the Bible off the lectern in the fellowship hall and brought it back to the table. That wasn’t it.
Formations 09.11.2016: Encouraging Others
September 4, 2016 by
Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once explained that his coaching philosophy involved communicating three things to his players: “If anything goes bad, then I did it. If anything goes semi good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it.”
Formations 09.04.2016: Examples
August 28, 2016 by
The Thessalonians imitated Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. But they couldn’t do that forever without becoming examples to the many churches around them.