We often hear people talking about God's wrath, but God's wrath is not simply anger or even inherently directed at us.
Did God harden Pharaoh’s Heart?
I have been thinking a lot about "the hardening of Pharaoh's heart" in Exodus and how it relates to the Signs (or Plagues). It is easy to think of Pharaoh as God's puppet and that God's plan is to so callous Pharaoh's will that Pharaoh will play into God's trap. With this reading God is... Continue Reading →
Is God Moving?
This past week I've seen a great deal of hand-wringing over two Christian organizations who claim to see fresh movements from God and the criticism seems to come for precisely the same reason. Since last Wednesday morning Asbury University has been holding a continuous and student led worship service, which while praised in some quarters... Continue Reading →
And Call Them to Repentance
Reading through a songbook I stumbled on the now dated chorus "Change My Heart Oh God", this started me thinking about other songs that mention metaphors of hardhearted, or heart of stone and our need for change to be like God. Then I started down the Twitter rabbit hole where I saw any number of... Continue Reading →
On Reading Scripture
Let's face it, the Bible can be a difficult book to read and understand, and we all need help capturing it's meaning. On the Book Shelf tab I have a list of resources that I have found helpful but a list is not always helpful. While reading commentaries is helpful, it is probably impractical to... Continue Reading →
Mind Your Manners
I remember Thanksgiving as a kid, like so many other families we would visit my grandparents. My grandfather would pray before the meal and his prayer would usually end, "keep us mindful of whose we are and whom we serve". He would then sit down and intentionally ask questions designed to stir the rest of... Continue Reading →
Text for the Week: Love Endures the Difficulties
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 When someone in your assembly has a legal case against another member, do they dare to take it to court to be judged by people who aren’t just, instead of by God’s people? 2 Or don’t you know that God’s people will judge the world? If the world is to be judged... Continue Reading →
The Need to Get to the Heart of the Matter
One of my favorite podcasts is Biologos' Language of God, I encourage anyone with an interest in sound theology or science to subscribe. On the most recent episode the guests discussed how the majority of people believe that science and religion are at odds in general but when questioned about specific science and theology questions... Continue Reading →
The New Fundamentalists
A century ago (May 21, 1922) Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon entitled Shall the Fundamentalists Win. America and the American Church especially at the time was in the midst of significant cultural upheaval with a debate roaring between two factions, the Modernists (or Liberals) and the Fundamentalists. The Fundamentals a series of essays designed... Continue Reading →
Baptizing Political Beliefs
I saw recently Russell Moore wrote two pieces for Christianity Today on the relationship between evangelicalism and conservative politics, both are must reads (here & here). In these articles Moore provides evidence that the current wave of conservative faith-based is not in fact rooted in churches, but in those who have given up the much... Continue Reading →
Saints & Idiots 