Moses tells the story of Abraham, Paul mentions Abraham several times, but did Jesus ever talk about Abraham? He does at length in John 8. Jesus is explaining that God the Father has sent him, yet the people do not listen to his words but instead do the will of their father, the devil. His Jewish audience insists their father is Abraham. Jesus says that if Abraham were their father they would do the things Abraham did, such as rejoice when he saw the Day of the Lord. Jesus contends they are not sons of Abraham. Continue reading
Category Archives: Christianity
In Christ Alone
I’ve never been one for blogging song lyrics, but the gospel message is all over these verses. In Christ Alone (Keith Getty, Stuart Townsend) is one of my favorite songs that any Christian artist has ever produced.
In Christ Alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, and strivings cease.
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ Alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love, and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save.
‘Til on the cross as Jesus died
the wrath of God was satisfied.
For every sin on him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live. Continue reading
Immanuel, God With Us
Isaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah, saying that a virgin would conceive and have a child, and his name would be called Immanuel. When Matthew quotes Isaiah he adds that Immanuel means “God with us.” That’s the true meaning of Christmas.
I recently wrote that when we could not come to God, he came to us. In Isaiah chapter nine he writes “His name shall be called Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” If the baby in the manger is anything other than God with us, you’re not understanding the full implication of Christ’s birth. Continue reading
Bittersweet
As a small child, we are taught a few emotional expressions. We all learn happy, sad, angry and surprised at a young age. The natural maturation process eventually teaches us that all things are not so simple. Sometimes good news has a sting to it, or we take bad news and try to find the silver lining. When a terminally ill child passes away, sometimes there is comfort in knowing he will no longer suffer. Or the opposite may be true; a child leaving for college or getting married is an exciting occasion, but also sad in a way for the parents staying behind in the empty nest. I’m not sure MySpace or WordPress have an emoticon for bittersweet. Continue reading
Almost Getting Christmas
This is part two of Almost Getting Jesus. It was just way too long to be a single post.
Many believe Christmas to be Jesus’ birthday, and his birth is why we celebrate. Yes; and no. Mostly no. The wise men brought gifts, which is why we exchange gifts. Perhaps; but I don’t think so. The true meaning of Christmas is about peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, right? That’s what the angels proclaimed to the shepherds, but that’s not what Christmas really means to Christianity; not really. What’s wrong with all of these statements you ask? There’s nothing majorly wrong with them, and they are close to the Gospel. Continue reading
Almost Getting Jesus
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
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
