parables of a prodigal world

In his second volume on Romans from the The New Testament for Everyone Series , N.T. Wright talks about something very special that we might learn from Romans. No, not about justification by faith, or original sin, or becoming one in Christ. It's something you can only glean if you take the time to study and meditate on the New Testament. I mean really study and meditate on it , not just the texts themselves, but the history and the socio-political context behind them. In his discussion of Romans 15 , Wright talks about Paul's desire to go to Spain: "I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be sped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little." Commentaries on Romans tend to trivialize this fact. Wright doesn't. He points out that, although this is the first mention of Paul's ambition to go to Spain, it fits right in with everything we know about him. He longed to name Jesus as Lord throughout the entire world, and Sp...

Today, Eugene discusses a CNN article about racial segregation and church . One segment of the article goes something like this: But interracial church advocates say the church was never meant to be segregated. They point to the New Testament description of the first Christian church as an ethnic stew — it deliberately broke social divisions by uniting groups that were traditionally hostile to one another, they say. DeYoung, the “United by Faith” co-author, says the first-century Christian church grew so rapidly precisely because it was so inclusive. He says the church inspired wonder because its leaders were able to form a community that cut across the rigid class and ethnic divisions that characterized the ancient Roman world. “People said that if Jews, Greeks, Africans, slaves, men and women - the huge divides of that time period — could come together successfully, there must be something to this religion,” DeYoung says. Well, not exactly. OK, there was much that was exemplary abou...

We all had a good laugh over the guy electro -shocking the pickle to demonstrate the transformed Christian life. Mofast said three people walking by the house overheard it and were instantly saved. Gordan suggested the video should come with a warning: "Warning: This video kills brine cells." He then ducked in anticipation of oncoming fruit. But seriously... Jar full of pickles. All pretty much the same. One pickle gets plugged into a power source. It begins to look different than the other pickles. Not outwardly, but by virtue of the light emanating as a result of the power source... Hmmmm ? Could Grandpa John be on to something? If we look past the whole pickle-zapping thing, maybe he's hit the nail right on the head. Power of the Spirit. Light of the world. City set on a hill. Lampposts. Think about it. Isn't one of the central truths of the entire biblical narrative, one that is so often overlooked, that we are called to be God's children not simply for our ...