The Purpose of Lent? An Invitation of Decrease and Increase
I never quite understood Ash Wednesday when I was younger. My home church never emphasized anything about Lent, or even Good Friday for that matter. In my experience growing up in church, winter was over, spring started springing, then it was time for Easter Sunday! That meant getting up before the crack of dawn, putting […]
Who’s on the Throne?
I’m going to be honest. I am hit—way more than I care to admit—with the realization that my agenda is my agenda and not God’s. I might have just preached a sermon about God’s will that Sunday, but my life is more about my will. Yes, I desire for God to be glorified, but too much of my heart […]
Bringing Our Expectations in Line with God’s Truth
“But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30, NIV) What expectations have we placed on God that may not be consistent with who he has shown himself to be and with how he has shown himself to work in […]
Renew Review: Dallas Willard’s ‘Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables Revolutionize Life with God’
In Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God, the late Dallas Willard’s teachings on the parables of Jesus have been gathered together to serve the church today. New Testament theologian John Whittaker offers his review of Willard’s book, including a summary and its chief insights.
Sermon on the Mount: What Is Love in Christianity?
What is love in Christianity? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about the love God has for us and we are called to have for each other. If you made a list of “The Top 10 Greek Words Normal Churchgoers Know,” agape would be on that list. It’s the word Jesus uses […]
Powerless Authority: A Retelling of the Jesus-Pilate Dialogues
Drugged with sleep, Pontius didn’t stir at his servant’s words: “Sir, Caiaphas and his priests are here to see you.” “I don’t care,” he snarled from the corner of his mouth. “Tell them to come back later.” “No, it can’t wait, sir. They have a prisoner they want crucified and buried before sundown.” Pilate replied […]
Discipling Lost People into Salvation
“Metanoesein kai pistos emoi genesesthai!” These were the words of Flavius Josephus to a group of Jewish rebels in 66 A.D., commanding them to abandon their current course of action and to instead come under His command and direction. In English, we recognize His words as, “Repent and believe in me!” To the Christian, this is reminiscent […]
Review of Dallas Willard’s ‘The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God’
The Scandal of the Kingdom is the latest collection of Dallas Willard’s teaching on living as a disciple of Jesus. Dallas served as a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California from 1965 until his retirement in 2012, and his writings on the spiritual life and discipleship to Jesus have left a profound […]
