There are many people who are big fans of Jesus that fall just a little short of understanding him. I’ve spoken before of Hippie Jesus, Smiley Jesus, Mr. Rogers type Jesus, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. There have been a gazillion (pretty sure that’s the actual number) books on the “historical” Jesus. There’s now lots of those, too. I’m talking about people that have read or listened to things Jesus said and consider him to be a great guy. I’m talking about people who know that Jesus loved everybody, talked about peace, refused to stone the woman caught in adultery, fed the 5,000 and raised Lazarus. Yet at the same time those people ignore his command to “take up the cross” and follow. They almost get Jesus. Continue reading
Category Archives: Christianity
New Friends …Again
It’s that time again. Time to add some new friends to the blogroll. New on the blogroll at this time is New Creation Person, a.k.a. Carl. We think a lot alike. He’s a bit new to the blog thing, so pay him a visit and share a comment or two; I already have.
And new in the Useful Resources list is Catholic Answers. Check out their forums. This is the self proclaimed largest network of Catholics on the net, and Protestants alike are invited to join in and comment. I found out about them when a member linked to a post I wrote months ago. The thread on Christians struggling with homosexuality was sending traffic my way, so I joined as a member. Anytime you happen to wonder what our Catholic brothers and sisters believe about a particular subject, this is the place to start. Even if you believe Catholicism is wrong, I want you to do the research and be able to say why it is wrong.
Warning: If you are entering the URL yourself to visit Catholic Answers, be sure to type http://catholic.com and not catholics.com, with an “s.” This site will download malicious code (a trojan) to your computer. I was fortunate that McAfee caught it.
What is Advent?
The advent of something refers to its first appearing. In our culture, Christmas has turned into the Christmas season. This year it started about a week before Halloween, and will run until December 25th. The “Holiday Season” will actually extend until January 1st. All of this “Christmas creep” has a quite a negative effect on Christmas.
If we are celebrating the incarnation of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, the two-month Christmas season detracts from the actual day itself. I respond to the notion that our society stole Christmas from Christians and turn it into a secular holiday here. What I would like to do in this post is comment on a purely Christian tradition of celebrating Advent. Continue reading
It’s been a good day.
This has been a really good day. (Thanksgiving Day, 2008) I started it off by sleeping in. Continue reading
A Thanksgiving Sermon
Tomorrow is Sunday, November 23, and Thanksgiving Day is the following Thursday. I will be preaching this sermon in the morning, perhaps it will be a blessing to someone here as well. Anyone may feel free to use this material in a way that brings glory and honor to God.
We are going to begin with 4 scripture readings, used at different times during the service. You will note that there is one reading each from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and a Gospel. The final reading is the text of the sermon. Continue reading
The Abbreviated Jesus
When I started this blog, one of the secret little promises I made myself was that it wouldn’t be an Internet Monk fan site. Listening to his podcast is one of the reasons I started blogging myself. If you read this blog, you know that from time to time I link other blogs with posts of interest. Michael Spencer wrote a piece on the “abbreviated Jesus” this week, here’s a snippet that made me laugh out loud:
“The abbreviated Jesus can convincingly seem like the real Jesus, until you look and listen closely. Then it appears that he’s lost his laptop, his luggage and his cell phone. So for right now, he’s reading it all off the teleprompter.”
Read Do You Trust the Abbreviated Jesus? at internetmonk for the full story.
PBS Documentary on Martin Luther
Over the years, PBS has produced a series of programs on the history of empires. In 2003, they made 2 special episodes on Martin Luther. (Liam Neeson provides the narration.) Thanks to Hulu, these are available for your viewing pleasure at any time.
UPDATE: These were available for a very long time but have finally been removed from Hulu’s library. 3/31/14
The PBS website for the the films is still up at this address for the time being. I don’t know about getting the video but there is plenty to read.
The Invisible Sky Bully
The invisible sky bully; have you ever heard God referred to that way? Even worse than calling him the “invisible man in the sky” is the notion that God pushes people around because he is bigger than them. A real bully is often a coward, and throws his weight around or intimidates those smaller than himself with words. Those promoting the sky bully myth would have you to believe that God orders people to worship him, and sends to hell anyone that doesn’t. It makes it easier to not believe in a God that could be like that, or helps people to doubt there is such a God. In a way that’s good, because there isn’t a god like that. Continue reading
Total Depravity/Gospel Sermon
This video well illustrates the point that it is our very nature to be evil. He offers loads of scripture to back his claims. Don’t give up on it too early; hang in there, it ends with a presentation of the Gospel. They give you all of the bad news first, but the good news is in there.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about “Paul Washer – Total Depravity/Gospel …“, posted with vodpod
Old Testament God is the God of the New Testament
In a lot of people’s minds, God is this angry, loud, vengeful monster in the Old Testament of the Bible. Some non-Christians tell us we have two gods, the Old Testament one with the commandments and judgements, and the New Testament one offering grace and mercy. The God of the Bible is one; he gives commandments, he judges, but also offers to extend grace and mercy instead. The dichotomy may be apparent, but isn’t a matter of fact. Continue reading
The Master's Table 