On New Year's Day I had the opportunity to preach at Central Peninsula Church's North Campus. It was a part of their series answering the question "What child is this?" exploring the Christmas story through Jesus' embodiment and fulfillment of Old Testament texts.
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Advent of Hope: The Wait
Advent is about, the wait. It is about recognizing that the world has grown weary and is longing for something more. It is the recognition that something has gone wrong and we wait for a new day.
Advent is about, the hope. It affirms that God is not distant, but present and active. God has not abandoned his world.
Advent is about, the call. It is a story that we are called to embody. As God entered our story, we too enter the brokenness around us bringing hope and a new tomorrow.
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5 Things Worth Your Time - Part 13
Every Wednesday I post a handful of articles, blog posts, videos, columns, books or anything I find interesting and worth your time. Ranging from thought-provoking to funny to ridiculous, most are things I stumbled upon in the past week. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading along!
"Short Read" = 10 Minutes or less. "Long Read" = 10 Minutes or longer.
Read MoreJesus' Third Way - An Ethic of Nonviolence & Love of Enemy
Maybe one of the most neglected/ignored (and certainly most difficult) teachings of Jesus is his teaching of nonviolence and love of enemy. Jesus' teaching found in Matthew 5:38-48 was thee central ethic that inspired both Martin Luther King's Civil Rights Movement and Ghandi's Indian Independence Movement. In a collection of Dr. King's sermons entitled, Strength to Love, King says this about Jesus teaching of love of enemy...
Read MoreThe Initiating Love of God
Hello Friends -
The story of Exodus is about far more than the epic narrative it already is, it is about a paradigm of the way God works throughout the scriptures, and ultimately in the world. The story is about a God who hears the cries of those enslaved and acts on their behalf. It is a story about a God who rescues his people, without concern for their response. We see this story in Jesus' teaching in Luke 15. Here Jesus teaches 3 separate parables about, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. Each story is about something lost, that will remain lost unless someone goes and finds it. The three stories culminate in the picture of father running toward his estranged son, embracing him, kissing him, and throwing him a party.
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