“But God…made us alive with Christ….and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-7). Ephesians can be broken into two parts where the first 3 … More EPHESIANS 12: Solidarity with Christ is Everything (2:5-7)
In this series we’ll be picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus. “The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These … More Two by Two 1: He Sent Them
The human ego is a sly and persistent bugger. Our bent toward self-centeredness is an ever-present menace in times of well-intended Christian living. You never know when and where the individual ego, under the strong influence of the Enemy, will take and distort an otherwise good, God made gift. The Enemy will often lead our … More When ‘Togetherness’ Isn’t Enough
Enjoy a book review of Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification edited by Donald Alexander. The 5 representative views include the Lutheran, Wesleyan, Reformed, Pentecostal and Contemplative traditions. SUMMARY OF VIEWS I. Lutheran View. Gerhard O. Forde emphasizes the centrality of Christ’s righteousness as imputed to the believer for their justification. Sanctification is not something … More BOOK REVIEW: Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification
“A time is coming when those you now treat as enemies and slaves will show you nothing but love in return, when those who you curse with indifference will offer you blessing. When you slap these people on the right cheek, be prepared, for they will turn their left cheek toward you. When you steal … More QUOTABLES: Sermon on the Mount in Reverse
No issue is as timely for serious and sensitive biblical and pastoral reflection than the question of a biblical view of homosexuality. I will be teaching on this issue with our youth group in our study of Romans 1 and have taken this opportunity to re-examine the complexities surrounding this hot-button issue facing Christians today. … More The Sexual Vision of the Bible (R. Hays)
Covenant Pastor Eugene Cho has a potent reminder for Lent: We are now in the Lenten season and let me begin by sharing outright that Lent isn’t about you or about what you’re giving up. But we’ll get to that soon. For those that might not be familiar with Lent, it is the 40 day period (not … More What are you giving up for Lent? (Eugene Cho)
“I am the LORD’s servant,” Mary answered. “Be it unto me as you will” (Luke 1:38). “Nothing impresses us more than the calmness with which, after the first trouble was past, the virgin received the message of the angel. She was not dazzled nor excited by her glorious future. She was not touched by any … More QUOTABLES: The Boldest Words Ever Uttered (Stopford Brooke)
Originally posted October 2009. -JB The following paragraphs are taken from CNN.com. This issue is not going away and the slide toward the normativity of sexual promiscuity is only growing steeper by the day. How can Christ-followers show the world the beauty of God’s design for monogamous sexual fidelity? Here’s the message the pop … More CNN: “Is Monogamy Realistic?”
Narrative theology is a relatively new undertaking and is one good example of a positive development in theological studies, due, in part, to the influence of postmodernity.[1] I would suggest that the contributions of this movement will surprise many with numerous insights into how we might better approach the theological task, read the Bible, and … More God’s Grand Story & Our Role In It
Few studies have been more timely and pin-point accurate in it’s findings than the research of Christian Smith in “Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers” concerning the religious beliefs of American teenagers. I would argue that many of these teens have learned their faith from parents with similar Christian convictions and … More American Faith: “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism”
A repost from a few years back. -JB What if our faith was as real and powerful as the faith of the Apostle Paul, Peter, James and John, Mary and Lydia, Priscilla and Aquilla? What if our experience of church today was as exciting as those in the upper room at Pentecost, as action-packed as … More Cultivating an Apostolic Imagination
“If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God.” (2 Cor 5:13) Do you make several “foolish” decisions a day? Do people often look at you strangely, shake their head with scorn and just walk away? Do you regularly get accused of being silly, foolish or extremely impractical by those … More The Absurdity-Driven Life
When I meet Christians who are infatuated with their own depravity because it supposedly puts God on display, I often wonder what they do with certain Bible passages. You’ve met them often enough. They have a “Get out of the Way” theology. They appropriately fear self-righteousness and pride in their faith. They rightly want to … More “Get Out of the Way” Theology
A repost from my youth pastor days. Enjoy! -JB “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” -Jesus A recent Barna survey revealed some less than optimistic stats on the percentage of Americans who hold to a “biblical … More Christianity 1.0: “Installing” the Faith
Reposted from April 2011 and worth repeating…daily. -JB I often get asked, “How is the church plant doing? Are you succeeding?” That moment you must decide which measuring rod you’re going to use for gauging progress or failure. I decided years ago that success in the Christian walk is measured by our FAITHFULNESS and not any sort … More How God Measures Success: Effectiveness or Faithfulness?
A Daily Illumination classic from 2006. -JB I heard a bird chirping today. I actually stopped for a brief moment and listened. It was a good sound, and a good sign. Sign of what? A sign, I believe, of freedom. Yes, freedom from self-absorption. Our cell-phone society confines our internet identities to the rat mazes … More One Chirp at a Time: Flight from Self-Absorption
I was standing on the dock putting gasoline into the boat the other day. I happened to read the bright yellow warning sticker as I slowly poured the 5-gallons into the tank. The sticker read: WARNING: Leaking fuel is a fire and explosion hazard. Inspect fuel system often. My mind began searching for some Christian … More Warning: Explosion Hazard
“To candid, reasonable men I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought: I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God; just hovering over the great … More QUOTABLES: Wesley on God’s Book!
“What must our Lord think of us if His work and His witness depend upon the convenience of His people? The truth is that every advance that we make for God and for His cause must be made at our inconvenience. If it does not inconvenience us at all, there is no cross in it! … More QUOTABLES: A.W. Tozer on Leadership
On the cross, Jesus gets into it with his mother. “Woman, behold thy son,” he says to her. Mary, look at the child you are losing, the son that you are giving over for the sins of the world. Maternal love is that love that loves in order to give away. In Mary’s case, it … More Jesus’ Family Values (by Will Willimon)
I enjoyed this piece by No Longer I. -JB Did you know that the Rabbis view the study of the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) as the highest form of worship? One early Rabbi said, “When two sit together and exchange words of Torah, then the divine presence dwells among them.” … More The Power of Bible Study Remembered
Last night was groundbreaking (again) for Mound Westonka youth. Oh, they don’t know it yet. But there is another mustard seed movement afoot. Small, invisible at the moment. MainStreet Church is determined to join God in the power of the Holy Spirit to launch another ‘youth movement’ for Jesus. It’s called The Alley based on … More Revolutionary Teens in Mound
Pastor Steven hits the nail on the head and strikes a loud chord for all of us at MainStreet about to move one step closer toward our dream for ministry in Mound. -JB By Rev. Steven Larson, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Covenant Church in Brooklyn Park, MN Phillips Brooks wrote, “Do not pray for easy … More It’s time to dream! (by Steven Larson)
Jeremy L. Berg 