Tag Archives: Jesus

Hauerwas on the Church “Standing against the powers we confront”

We continued working through Stanley Hauerwas’s essay, “Discipleship as a Craft, Church as a Disciplined Community.” You can listen to the audio HERE. Hauerwas is talking about the church of our age (he’s writing in 1991, but it seems still … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Stanley Hauerwas, Violence | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

God’s Passion for People

In the book of Jonah we see God’s passion for people. That passion is demonstrated not just on behalf of “his own” people Israel, but even on behalf of their enemies in Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, Evangelism, God, Jesus, Love, Old Testament | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Three Simple Rules?

Since I’m working on a piece on Wesley’s General Rules I reread Rueben Job’s book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living yesterday afternoon. It’s a tiny book –  fewer than 70 pages. It’s easy to read in a … Continue reading

Posted in Discipleship, John Wesley | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lockean Self-Ownership

Do you think many Americans today agree with this claim of John Locke? “Every Man has a Property in his own Person. This no Body has any Right to but himself. The Labour of his Body, and the Work of … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Discipleship | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Gospel of John, Chapter 4

We continue working through the Gospel of John John 4:1-12 John 4:13-26 John 4:27-42 John 4:43-54

Posted in Bible, Gospel, Jesus | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Can We Argue with God?

How would Jonah’s story have been different if he’d taken time to engage with God, to ask questions and even to argue? Could he have come out the other side in a better relationship with God and with a better … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Discipleship, Discipline, Old Testament, Prayer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Wrestling in Prayer

God, the creator of the universe, invites us to join in what he’s doing. One key way we do that is in prayer. God lets us see people and situations from his point of view, fills us with love for … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Ministry, Prayer | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Contending with the “World, the Flesh, and the Devil”

Fathers’ Day is this weekend. If you’re an attentive Christian dad you’ve seen that the world, the flesh, and the devil are coming after your kids. As Christian dads, one of our essential jobs is standing against these powers for … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Ministry, Prayer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s Not Just Us

Or, The Problem of Catholicity The work of the Spirit to make us one body in Christ works against the nationalisms, ethnocentrisms, and individualism that keep us penned up and comfortable with our own tribes.

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Diversity, Doctrine, Ecclesiology, Theology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

You Gotta Have a Door! But…

The main text for this message is John 10:7-18 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Discipleship, Ecclesiology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment