Book Review: God for the Rest of Us

Can you imagine if Karl Barth sat down to write Church Dogmatics and began with an exceptional account of how wrecked his life has been by sin, how disturbed his family is/was, and other unsavory and sordid details of his confusion, pain, and suffering and then told us the story of how God redeemed it,…

I’m Glad Mark Driscoll Quit, but I Hope He Gets to Start Again

I am a Christian. I am a preacher–I just don't actually have a pulpit right now or a church or a Word from the Lord. It's not always easy–being a Christian, that is. I'm not always honest–which means that sometimes I am a hypocrite. I am not a strong-always-faithful-kind of guy. I am a weak-my-grace-is-sufficient-for-you-kind…

Daily Office: July 2, 2014

Sometimes I'm not even sure why we bother. I have a wish for peace. I have a wish that the people of this earth will get along and throw down their implements of war. I'm sick of war and death and famine and disease. I'm sick of violence. I'm sick of politics and intrigue. I'm…

Daily Office: June 30, 2014

The Daily Office readings for today, June 30, 2014 are as follows. I draw from the Book of Common Prayer, Year 2, Proper 8: Psalm 106:1-18 (I just read the entire Psalm) Numbers 22:1-21 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 21:12-22 These were some wonderful readings and I'll briefly share just a few thoughts on them in order…

500 Words Per Day: Car Doors and Sin

Took some time late this afternoon to go birding with my wife. It was a great afternoon driving around slowly on the back roads, often on the wrong side of the road, without seat belts just hoping to catch a glimpse of some bird we may have never seen before. We saw a lot of…

Sinning Like a Christian: William Willimon

Sinning Like  a Christian, by William Willimon Abingdon Press, 2005 A Peculiar Prophet (Willimon’s Blog) I wish I had the courage to sin like William Willimon, but I know that if I did, people might look at me funny. After all, I’m not William Willimon.  The problem with Willimon is not his theology. I think…

A Word to the Sinners Among Us

“For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God…” Paul to the Romans, chapter 3, verse 23 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life…” John the Apostle, chapter the third, 16th verse. Today,…

Emil Brunner on the Scandal of Christianity

“Let me say one last word. The scandal of Christianity exists as a scandal only so long as we are full of ourselves. To believe in the cross of Christ no scandal for those who have seen how perverted is their own wisdom, the wisdom of natural man. It is the very corrective for this…

Being Dad: Bouncing on Beds

Friends, Several years ago I wrote a book-length series of devotions that, at the time, I sent around to everyone in my email address book. All of the devotionals were based on my experiences as a dad to three boys (the oldest of which, at the time, was 10; he is now 15.) I never…

Where it All Went Wrong

90 Days with Scripture Week 1: September 28, 2008 Genesis 3:1-24:  When Everything Went Wrong Introduction 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The…

Endangered Species #11

Friends, I happened to be visiting Live-Science.com this evening and I came across an interesting article titled 10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye. It is a picture essay listing ten different animals that are considered ‘endangered’ by someone who is, evidently, an expert. Doing my part to spread this disturbing news, I will here list…

Who wrote this?

Friends, Here’s a thought from someone you might not guess. Take your best shot: Our kindness ought to extend much farther in tolerating imperfection of life, for here there is great danger of falling, and Satan employs all his devices to ensnare us. For there always have been persons who, imbued with a false persuasion…

Learning to Live by Grace *Updated*

Friends, Here are some thoughts on grace. I just cannot believe, at times, how abundant God’s grace is. Strangely enough, I think it is the church many times that is most afraid of this grace. My prayer is that the church will learn grace not only saves but that it empowers us to live freely. Too…

What Will Christians Be Known For?

What should the Church be known for? What should Christians be known for? Here is an examination of some comments made by Brian MacLaren in a book titled UnChristian.

Creation and Sin and Atheism

Friends, I have posted many thoughts about evolution and its impact on the general population of the world. I’d like to share someone else’s thoughts tonight. These thoughts concern how replacing the Creator with evolution has destroyed our understanding of sin. Consider: The basic reason why our modern Western culture has lost the concept of…