I’ve been thinking about this theme again lately. When we replace the statement ‘Jesus is Lord’ (which happens to be one of the earliest Christian creeds) with the statement ‘Jesus is Savior’, it fundamentally changes the way we read, understand and live out the gospel. Echoing ideas from an earlier blog on the gospel of […]

Setting the Stage for the Piecemeal Method of Bible Reading I have never been a fan of the kind of Christian spirituality that treats its primary story source, the bible, as a kind of piecemeal diet. A nibble here, a nibble there. A verse here, a verse there. Add in a little commentary from someone […]

Have you ever been wronged? I’m confident that most, if not all, of you would say yes. For those who have, Jesus provides us with a quick and decisive response. “Love your enemies” In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (5:43), he chose to frame this portion of teaching by using tradition as […]

Over the past few months, much of my reading, reflecting and writing has centered on the question, ‘what is the gospel?’ It has informed and shaped a number of blog posts, as well as a sermon series, over the course of the summer. Throughout this journey, I have found the writings and videos of N.T. […]

I’m just going to say it… When we reduce the gospel story to salvation and salvation to personal forgiveness and forgiveness to a plan of salvation that focuses exclusively on getting people to make a decision (what Dallas Willard referred to in The Divine Conspiracy as the gospel of sin management), we essentially de-storify the […]

In this short video, professor N.T. Wright comments on his book on the gospel, How God Became King. I read the book some time ago and will read it again soon after I complete my second reading of a similar book from Scot McKnight entitled, The King Jesus Gospel. While he makes a number of […]

While this short video from Tim Keller doesn’t address every issue relative to the church’s response to homosexuality (how could it?), it does bring to the table a number of important points for reflection and thoughtful discussion. I particularly appreciated these ideas: – that homosexuality does not reflect God’s original design for sexuality and therefore […]

Here is a great video from Bruxy Cavey, teaching pastor at The Meeting House, on the nature, shape and purpose of the Gospel. Share it with your friends!

From the words of the prophets in the Old Testament leading up to and culminating in the teachings of Jesus and then passed along through the writings to the early Church, there is a sense that God isn’t giving up on the creation that was called “good” from the very beginning.  In fact, there is […]