How slow the moments must have seemed, there in the garden, among the olive trees that moonlit night, as the trees uplifted their branches in the dappled light and shadow like arms uplifted in prayer. Only they managed to stay and watch with you. The garden grew quiet as your followers fell asleep one by … More Gethsemane 2: A Meditation
What do you think?
In one garden, the lie was chosen over the will of God, and nature groaned under the curse and the grief and the countless tears of mankind that followed. In one garden, quietly, one full moon night the will of God was chosen over the lie and nature knew the promise of healing that would … More Gethsemane 1: Two Gardens
When Jesus says to his disciples, “Take my yoke upon you” and “learn from me” (Matt 11), he is not just drawing upon a vague farming metaphor. “Yoke” was a common metaphor for a particular rabbi’s interpretation and application of God’s torah to everyday life. In Jesus’ day, all devout Jews wholeheartedly sought to live … More “Download My Soundtrack” (Matt 11:28-32)
For those who read my blog, one bonus is that you often get a preview of what might be coming down the pipe as far as sermons go at MainStreet. I’m a deep processor and require time to chew on ideas and try them out before I preach on them. Daily Illumination often becomes a … More New Sermon Series: “Backroads, Buckets & Buffets”
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:22-23). Paul pushes hard here. First, who leads your church? Whose agenda always seems to get passed? Pastor? Key elders? Prominent, influential … More EPHESIANS 8: Jesus our Head and Body (1:22-23)
I love Colbert’s satire. There’s always such a sharp dose of truth hidden beneath all the jokes. Enjoy! [Click on image to watch video]
The following is from Jack’s Blog. This is a timely passage to meditate on during the busy holiday season. -JB SCRIPTURE: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be … More Christmas at Martha’s Home
From CT: On 9/11 I thought, For the most powerful, militarized nation in the world also to think of itself as an innocent victim is deadly. It was a rare prophetic moment for me, considering Presidents Bush and Obama have spent billions asking the military to rectify the crime of a small band of lawless individuals, destroying a … More Will Willimon on 9/11
“I find an increasing number of young Christians are willing to say “enough is enough” when it comes to militarism, to military budgets, and to embracing a peace orientation toward how Christians are to live in a world of international conflicts. Ronald Sider (Christ and Violence) and John Howard Yoder (The Politics of Jesus ) have … More QUOTABLES: Scot McKnight on Non-Violence
One of the most simple but important driving lessons we learned in kindergarten: stay between the lines! In driving you must keep yourself from veering to the left and the right. We must keep ourselves between the yellow center line and the white shoulder line. What do these two colored lines represent on the road … More STUDENT DRIVER 4: Life Between the Lines
Jesus is the fullest revelation of God’s character. “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father,” Jesus said. God looks like Jesus. If you want to know the character of God, look at Jesus. I reread Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, recently. I simply read paragraph after paragraph, … More An Angry God?
Bart Ehrman and friends are making the rounds with their books attempting to undermine the reliability of the New Testament witnesses to the life of Jesus. Have you bought their rhetoric? Have you joined the chorus of skeptics in an age of unbelief? Here’s a challenging rebuttal by Dr. Ben Witherington III to consider. (This … More Bart Ehrman & Ben Witherington: Who’s the Fundamentalist?
As I read through the Gospels today, I noticed that Jesus seems to be fond of commanding people to either “Come, follow me!” or “Go!”. The point seems quite clear: Life as a disciple of Jesus is a life “on the move.” He calls us to drop our nets, leave our old life behind and … More With Jesus: Are we Coming or Going?
“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). There’s a powerful lesson and warning to the church in this passage I’ve never noticed until today. It seems as though Jesus is confronting a popular … More When Conventional Wisdom Reaches it’s Expiration Date
Jesus was not seeker sensitive. He was not after the crowds. Obviously, his signs and wonders, and authoritative teaching naturally drew crowds. But in the scene below we find Jesus trying to escape the clamoring crowds and find a moment of solitude. Even more shocking, when his disciples tell him of a crowd of people … More The Day Jesus Skipped Church (Mark 1:35-39)
I went there to look for a new book to read, but found myself reading the bookstore and its shoppers instead. Let me share what I observed. Steady traffic by the Diet and Cookbook section. Many people concerned with their physical appetite and eating habits browsed through Magic with Meats, Vegetarian and natural food options, … More Lazy Day Observations at Barnes & Noble
Which Jesus do you follow? This is the most significant question we can ask. The New Testament declares that Jesus is the full and accurate picture of the invisible God. When you stare into the face of Jesus, you’re looking into the face of Almighty God. So, what kind of a God does Jesus reveal? … More Greg Boyd Puts the “Smack Down” on Mark Driscoll’s Jesus
I have the opportunity to have coffee/lunch chats often with young disciples of Jesus. It’s one of my highlights of ministry, and I only dream I can impart some Jesus-like wisdom to these friends to spur them on in their walk of faith. Have you ever wondered what a coffee chat with Jesus would be … More Coffee with Jesus – 1st Century Style
“Why do so many seekers report that they are attracted to Jesus but not to the church? Perhaps the problem is that the church has done a splendid job of concealing the powerful life-giving Jesus. We domesticate him; we make him our servant; we assume that people have more knowledge about him than they do. … More QUOTABLES: David T. Olson on Domesticating Jesus
The political climate in America this week is boiling hot on the heals of Sunday night’s signing of the Obamacare proposal. There is an apocalyptic like mood on the conservative right, with talk show hosts prognosticating on the eventual collapse of America as we know it. Today, I walked to the gas station for a … More Which Government Do You Serve?
Let’s bring religion, sex, and politics to the dinner table! Jesus and the Bible have a lot to say about them. Tread carefully and expect disagreements. FAITH & POLITICS ARCHIVE SEX & GOD ARCHIVE
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the … More Adventures in Mark 6 (4:35-41)
So, I rarely have dreams — or ones that I remember anyway. But this morning I woke up in a cold sweat from a nightmare where I was being chased by a vicious wolf who eventually caught me and began eating my arms off. Is there some deeper significance here? Why would I dream of … More Wolf Attack
Kingdom Harbor 