January 28, 1986, was a day I will never forget. What happened that day scarred me. I was in sixth grade, came in from recess, and a student who had been inside for recess drew a picture on the chalkboard of the space shuttle Challenger blowing up. We were shocked, as was our nation. InContinue reading “Space Shuttle, Space X, Artemis and the billionaires – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 2”
Monthly Archives: August 2024
Space Race, Moonshot and SkyLab – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 1
Trivia question: What major lunar event happened on December 14, 1972? On December 14, 1972, US astronaut Eugene Cernan stepped off the surface moon, climbed up the ladder back into the lunar module Challenger, closed the hatched, blasted off, returned to earth, and humans have never again set foot on the moon. That was 52Continue reading “Space Race, Moonshot and SkyLab – A Theology of Space Exploration, Part 1”
A theology of space exploration – Preview
Trivia question for you: Why doesn’t the International Space Station fall to the earth and burn up during reentry in the atmosphere? Did you know the International Space Station is 357 feet long end to end, has a mass of 1 million pounds and would just barely fit inside a football field? It has livingContinue reading “A theology of space exploration – Preview”
How Christians can avoid getting sucked into outrage culture – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 5
We Christians are known for practicing the ethics of the Kingdom of Jesus: truth-telling, humility, selfless sacrifice, generosity, hope, peacemaking, and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Or are we? Sadly, across our country some Christians have chosen anger, meanness, spite, bitterness, and attack. We American Christians far too often in recent years, haveContinue reading “How Christians can avoid getting sucked into outrage culture – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 5”
How could David slaughter men and women…and lie about it? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 4
In the previous post, we read something very dark about David, who was supposed to be a man after God’s own heart. In 1st Samuel 27, we learned that David and his men go out on raids, slaughtering people. Men and women. Also, David clearly didn’t want his new king, the Philistine, Achish, to knowContinue reading “How could David slaughter men and women…and lie about it? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 4”
How David’s fugitive years finally came to an end – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 3
In 1st Samuel chapter 27, verses 1-4, after David and Saul and their soldiers part ways, David still doesn’t believe that Saul has given up hunting him. As we learned in the previous post, Saul sounded repentant, but now in 1st Samuel 27, verses 1-4, David thinks Saul will change his mind and start huntingContinue reading “How David’s fugitive years finally came to an end – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 3”
Why is it so difficult to admit we are wrong? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 2
Do you like to admit you are wrong? The biblical concept of repentance involves admitting that you are wrong, and generally-speaking, we humans don’t like to admit we are wrong. As we have been studying the life of David through the account in 1st Samuel, for a few weeks now, we’ve been following the storyContinue reading “Why is it so difficult to admit we are wrong? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 2”
David’s compelling rationale for not killing Saul (though Saul wants to kill him) – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 1
When my oldest son was in Kindergarten, he would come home reporting to us what movies other kids in his class were allowed to watch. My wife and I were astounded at those parents. How could they allow their kids to watch such movies with such intense themes? We were certainly not allowing our twoContinue reading “David’s compelling rationale for not killing Saul (though Saul wants to kill him) – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Part 1”
Who are the difficult people in your life? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Preview
Who are the difficult people in your life? Who comes to mind? Could be a family member. Could be a coworker. A client. A team member. A friend. A friend??? Why would we be friends with difficult people? But we are sometimes, aren’t we? Would anyone in your life think that you are difficult inContinue reading “Who are the difficult people in your life? – 1st Samuel 26 & 27, Preview”
In God’s mission, do the ends justify the means? – 1st Samuel 25, Part 5
Have you heard the phrase, “the ends justify the means”? This common statement suggest that if we are pursuing a good goal, we might need to use not-so-good methods to achieve that goal. All that matters is achieving the goal. The goal, in other words, is so important that we can allow for inappropriate behaviorContinue reading “In God’s mission, do the ends justify the means? – 1st Samuel 25, Part 5”
Engaging Scripture 