They Carried Weapons In the Bible, Dr. Luke records the scene: Jesus is eating his final meal with his followers. He is sharing some parting words when he makes a perplexing remark about buying swords. His disciples matter-of-factly reply that they have two swords. Did you catch that? Jesus’ disciples carry swords. I don’t know about […]
A while back, my bride was awarded a “five-year plaque” at work—and she was miffed. Public recognition for five years of work is supposed to be a good thing. Causing angst wasn’t the intention. The goal of the award was to make her feel appreciated, to give her a reason to feel good about her job […]
If this is your first time setting an annual Bible reading goal, we recommend starting with the New Testament. The Annual New Testament Bible Reading Plan is now available. Read the New Testament in a year. It only takes 3 to 4 minutes a day, Monday through Friday. (If an annual New Testament Bible reading […]
It seems that my bride starts preparing for Christmas around the middle of August, looking for specific items on sale and making gifts for others. Even so, “we” are usually among the last to put up the Christmas decorations. While many stores have been decorated since Halloween (or earlier) and neighbors had their lights strung before […]
The Bible contains four separate accounts of the life of Jesus. They are biographies of Jesus, which we call Gospels. The question is often asked, “Which one should I read first?” That is a hard to answer, as each one has its own strengths. Matthew The Gospel written by Matthew does much to connect Jewish […]
In this Christmas season our thoughts turn more intentionally and more frequently to Jesus, the reason for this annual celebration. In consideration of the first Christmas, my thoughts are warm and cozy, happy and joyous, and idyllic and serene, with angels singing, kings bearing gifts, and happily contented shepherds shepherding. This is all true, but […]
It was just this week that we had our first snowstorm of the season. In fact, it was just last week that we had our first snow. It is unusually late that these events occurred in December. Our first snow is invariably before Thanksgiving and sometimes even before Halloween. I do remember one year, taking our kids […]
This is my first post in December. You may be wondering what has happened to me—well, at least some people have. The short answer is that I have been really busy. It all started Thanksgiving weekend. Feeling that I needed an extended break from work, I determined to take a four-day weekend. When I returned […]
Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, catholic, green, incarnational, depressed- yet hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian. By Brian McLaren (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) In A Generous Orthodoxy, author Brian McLaren seeks to move the modern world’s theological dialog beyond the paralyzing impasse of liberal versus conservative, into a […]
How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith By Diana Butler Bass (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) Diana Butler Bass opens her book, Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith, by admitting that mainline (that is, liberal) Protestantism is in trouble, with declining attendance and a loss of significance. […]