Reflections on Easter Throughout Easter Sunday, Christians hear the proclamation: Jesus is risen! The message—whether online or in other ways—shares a fundamental common theme: Jesus is alive! That is the appropriate and true Easter declaration. But what are the implications for us? For those who were not there to visit the empty tomb, to meet […]
The tendency seems to be quite widespread. In personal conversations, in popular books, and from Sunday pulpits, there’s a habit of reading Scripture as if the Bible is a collection of good advice to make our lives work better. Texts are mined to provide “four steps to . . . ” or “what to do […]
It can’t be ignored. Even if the tanks haven’t rolled into our backyard, we can’t overlook what is happening on the world stage. We need to think about it–but the challenge will be to think well about what we see unfolding in the world. Three voices can help us navigate through this current conflagration: two […]
If you look over my shoulder as I am studying or reading my Bible, you will see that I usually read with a pen in hand. If you attend The River’s “Reading Scripture” course, you’ll discover we encourage people to read Scripture with a pencil in hand. And, typically, the question gets raised: Why do […]
Every week I have conversations with friends about the Christian life. Regardless of where the discussions start, we often end up talking about the place of Scripture in this life we live with Jesus. One conversation focused on a regular teacher at a church who seemed to feel his stories were more to be valued […]
The Christmas celebration is over, at least with regard to the pre-holiday busy-ness and the family gatherings. We’ve sung the songs, wrapped the presents, feasted on the special foods, given the gifts, and (hopefully) thought some about the “reason for the season.” But now what? Now that most of the celebration is past, what might […]
It happens . . . it seems that it’s a regular, yearly, occurrence. A lot of people who don’t go to church throughout the year or wouldn’t sing about Jesus will acquiesce to doing that one day year–they will go to church for Christmas. They’ll show up, they’ll sing, and they will enter in to […]
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the growth that comes in the Christian life. He explains that some ministry is like sowing seed, some is like watering plants, but it is God who brings the growth (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). Thus, in one sense, all ministry is a kind of spiritual horticulture—we participate […]
For those of us who are somewhat familiar with the Gospels’ accounts of Jesus, we can end up feeling slightly underwhelmed by what we see in those accounts as we read. It’s been said that “familiarity breeds contempt”–and there is some truth in that. But the other thing that familiarity (or perceived familiarity!) might breed […]
So many Bible study books, with long chapters and multiplied “principles,” imply you need to master some specific content before you can feel confident that you could actually read the Bible. It’s not that there aren’t principles to be learned, but too often the approach taken is more than a bit intimidating to someone who […]
