In Sunday’s sermon, I closed by thinking through what a real worst-case scenario might look for us leading up to Christmas. I offered the following:
What would Our Worst Case Scenario be this holiday season
if we had to imagine it?
I Just Wish It Were Obvious
It really is frustrating that understanding the Bible as it demands to be understood takes so much on our part. It’s not that we’re lazy, it’s just that we think it ought to say what it means and mean what it says. We begin to resent the word, interpretation in all its forms because of it.
How Are We Supposed to Understand the Bible?
A Five-Part Discussion
The two words most commonly used regarding the Bible are infallible and inspired. The problem is that different religions—even different Christians within the same church—mean different things by using those words.
The words infallible (incapable of failing) or inerrant (without error) are often used of the Bible in order to express the belief that the Bible is trustworthy and reliable. If I can count on the Bible to be true then I am much more likely to live my life by what it teaches. (Click to read more).
Predictions for the Future from 1900
I found this wonderful vignette online and was so tempted to work it into Sunday’s sermon since it is about looking down the road toward the future.
Archived Posts
Back and Forth with Chat GPT
Many of you know that I’ve found a new consultant to bounce my ideas off in regard to preaching. My good buddy Chat GPT and I sometimes disagree—often miscommunicate—but usually come up with some fruitful illustrations.
One More Thing About Becoming Wholly Human
I was talking Sunday about the work of Hare and Woods and their idea of ‘the survival of the friendliest.’ Essentially, they conclude that “our greatest evolutionary advantage wasn't that we could do everything ourselves. It was that we could do things together.”
Here’s a preview of our congregation’s Core Values
In the coming weeks we will be exploring the importance of presence, prayers, gifts, service, witness, and growth in grace. These are at the heart of what we commit to when we join a Wesleyan grace-led church like ours. But we choose to broaden them out and state them in a new way…
The Biblical prayer we don’t know what to do with
Psalm 137 is written by people who have experienced catastrophic loss.
They have been conquered...
Patience and Trust
Sunday, in my benediction (which traditional folks did not hear) I talked about the Marshmallow Test. The original results of that test with children was that those who could delay gratification did better in life than those who could not.