Is Lazarus and the Rich man a Parable?

I came upon Luke 16 finally in my Greek reading.  It reminded me of some study I did a few years back on whether the narrative of the Rich Man and Lazarus was a parable or not.  Having read through Luke for the last 7 months up to this, it has further reinforced my conclusions.  [...]

1 John Fridays-When you need him most…

I hit 1 John 2:1-2 briefly in my last 1 John Friday post.  The “if” clause there continues as a fitting conclusion to the 5 “if”s carried over from chapter 1.  But it also opens a few things that are worth exploring on their own. 1) One of the titles Jesus gives to the Holy [...]

“A Meal with Jesus”- Book Recommendation

I recently read an excellent little book by Tim Chester called “A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, & Mission around the Table“.   It’s a study of several portions of Luke’s Gospel that deal with Jesus at various meals.  I was greatly challenged by much of what was said, especially in the practical applications of [...]

1 John Fridays- No Green Lantern Here

Begin 1 John and your mind should jump to other Biblical passages, namely John 1 and Genesis 1.  “That which was from the beginning…” mirrors the opening phrases of Genesis “In the beginning, God created…” and of John’s Gospel “In the beginning was the Word.”  In Genesis the focus is on the God who speaks, [...]

What makes old commands new?

from 1 John 2:7-8: “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing [...]

What Churches can learn from “Lost” and “24″…

The church can learn this from TV: TV shows aren’t real.  The greatest entertainment and stories shown on screen end when the credits roll.  People have to go back to their real jobs with their real families, and their real problems and real hurts are still waiting there despite the momentary distractions of the flickering [...]

No ordinary family…

from the late Paul Hiebert’s The Gospel in Human Contexts: “But this is no ordinary family, no merely human community. In world religions, the gods demand the service of their worshipers, who must feed and clothe them, take them on processions, and offer sacrifices to them. In the church, it is God who descends to [...]

The Well-Adjusted Jesus- CS Lewis

from The Four Loves, referring to the problems he saw with classifying all human problems as psychological or pathological and how “normal” should not necessarily be our goal: “We have only seen one such Man. And He was not at all like the psychologist’s picture of the integrated, balanced, adjusted, happily married, employed, popular citizen.  [...]

A simple test for pastors, leaders, etc.

Here’s a simple test question to ponder for Christians who lead others in any capacity: If everyone at my church, job, etc., lived as I am living today, would they look more or less like Jesus? 1 Corinthians 11:1- “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

“Jesus was a legalist.”

No, that’s not my new blog title! (I’m still thinking through some updates and changes, but I’ve been kind of busy the last two weeks now that I’m “bi-vocational” for a month or two).  But unfortunately, this title was found on a local church sign near where I live: Now, let me admit a couple [...]