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During a recent sermon, I spent time talking about how we are prone to using labels to dehumanize people and disregard their opinions, perspectives, and feelings.  Though I didn’t fully venture into a political discussion, politics is where this is perhaps most apparent.  If someone labels themselves as a Republican, […]

Politics and Jesus (Part One of Three)

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In my last post, we looked at the Hebrews as they stood outside of the Promised Land and saw (real or imaginary) giants who threatened their entry.  In this post, I want to take a look at two times when Israel faced giants, and make a few observations about how […]

And if you do happen upon a giant…

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This isn't photoshopped - it's a photography trick called "forced perspective," using foreground and background objects to trick the eye.
I recently photographed my youngest daughter taking some of her first steps.  My first pictures were from my perspective – her dad, standing four feet taller than her and looking down at her.  I also took a few pictures from her eye-level, capturing the pride on her face as she […]

The Importance of Perspective

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16 A man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?” 17 Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” 18 The man said, “Which ones?” Then Jesus […]

Life in this Age; Life in the Coming Age

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I cringe when I hear those words: “We’re only human, after all.” I understand the sentiment that motivates these words most of the time.  It is a way to extend forgiveness to others by sharing in their fallenness.  Of course, the phrase takes a different turn when applied to ourselves: […]

The Problem With Being “Only Human”

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Life is better in community. Life is wonderful and messy and joyous and painful and dangerous and delicate, and all of it is beautiful.  And it is intended to be shared. It was created to be shared.  We were created to live in community. Community is more than simply a collection of people.  […]

Abracadabra, Community!

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We read in Matthew 10 that as Jesus was preparing his disciples, there came a time when he commissioned them to proclaim and enact the good news of his kingdom.  So he sent them into Jewish villages with this instruction:  “make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal […]

Shake the Dust Off Your Feet

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This is a short story that I wrote a few years ago.  It’s a bit rough in a few places, but I think it still accomplishes what I was trying to accomplish. Death Sentence It might seem strange if I told you that I vividly remember the night I died.  I […]

Death Sentence

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It occurred to me recently that I cannot think of a time when I have heard the concept of sanctification linked to a kingdom eschatology.  The concepts fit together so neatly that it is baffling that we don’t talk about the two ideas together. I have spent the last few […]

Sanctification and Kingdom Eschatology

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