So why do we make New Years Resolutions? Have you thought about that as you consider your own coming up?
This is again one of those areas of history where there is much tradition and probably not complete certainty. New Years celebrations themselves go back thousand of years with the ancient Babylonians who celebrated the New [...]
Continue reading about Where do New Years Resolutions Come from? Will you make one?
Don’t you love it when someone presents you with a false choice/dichotomy?
There seems to be a real war going on in the spiritual world today in relation to one of these false choices and I think the correct answer is captured in Psalm 40.
People don’t always actually ask you to make a choice, but how [...]
Continue reading about The False Choice- Personal or Corporate Spirituality- Psalm 40- Sons of Korah
We know God is everywhere, but can he enter into places?
Is God in special places in a special way?
As you listen to the words of psalm 24 and watch the images associated with it, the focus starts with the vastness of God. He is the creator. And this is a common way for us to [...]
Continue reading about Where will the King of Glory Enter? God contained?- Psalm 24- Sons of Korah
In the final chapter of In the Shadow of the Temple, the author discusses a major transition point in the Church’s history. For the first three centuries of its story, Christianity grew closely alongside Judaism, but with the so-called Constantinian Revolution, the break became that much more evident.
What happened?
Just prior to Constantine gaining power as [...]
Continue reading about Is the Church better when it’s favored or persecuted- Shadow of the Temple
So what did you do with your snow day? Or ice day? Or whatever kind of day you had when almost the whole country was gripped by strong winter weather?
I managed to drive/skate to work this morning. Thankfully, the roads were quiet so I could leave quite a bit of distance between myself and neighboring [...]
Ok, so yesterday was a little deeper which is good, but today I thought I’d go the other direction and give you something kind of fun. A member forwarded this link on to me and I found it entertaining.
Underneath the humor though, there’s kind of an interesting thing to consider- the music of the church [...]
Continue reading about Something a little lighter- Atheists Don’t Have Songs
The question seemed innocent: “John, do you have a favorite hymn you’d like me to play at your installation?” My answer to Matt, the worship director at Prince of Peace, was immediately condemning, though: ”You know, Matt, I can’t tell you a song title. I really don’t know the hymnbook very well. In fact, I [...]
Leonard Sweet’s Post-Modern Pilgrims is a book I read & reread every couple of years just to refresh my knowledge of his EPIC paradigm, and to evaluate how I’ve been implementing this in my life & my ministry.
E-P(articipatory)-I-C
Participation
Keyboards are sooooo 1980s. My son expects that he can touch the icons on my computer desktop and [...]
I really felt educated by my rss wanderings this week. Enjoy!
I don’t feel old yet, but I’ll bet in another 5 years, reading this list will make me want to go out & buy a cool sportscar (BMW convertible, probably): What kids entering college think – Beloit College Mindset List. via Jesus Creed
Good food for [...]
What You're Saying...