Southern Christians who were slave-owners in our American past used the Bible to justify how they could sing praises to God at church on Sunday and then beat their slaves Monday through Saturday. Were they right? Does God condone slavery? As we continue our study through 1 Peter, this week we come to one ofContinue reading “One Bible passage slave owners used to justify owning and beating slaves”
Author Archives: joelkime
How all Christians have a responsibility to be priests
Christians, you are all priests! All week long we have been looking at some unusual ways Peter describes Christians’ identity and responsibility. A holy nation, living stones, and now priests! Yesterday we talked about how Christians can understand their identity as priests. Now let’s look at how Peter in 1 Peter 2:4-10 describes as ourContinue reading “How all Christians have a responsibility to be priests”
How all Christians should identify as priests
Sometimes people have bizarre reactions when they learn I am a pastor. If they had been cursing, once they find out I’m a pastor, they’ll over-apologize and try to stop. Often they’ll ask where Faith Church is and talk about how they’ll visit some Sunday. Even people within our church family can have strange reactions. Continue reading “How all Christians should identify as priests”
Why all Christians need to see that they are living stones and priests
We’ve been seeing lots of images of lava in the news in the last month or so, as volcanic activity has rocked Hawaii and Guatemala. Red hot glowing lava seems alive, as it crawls along the ground. But it is not alive. Lava is molten stone. There is no stone that is alive. Maybe somethingContinue reading “Why all Christians need to see that they are living stones and priests”
Would you go to a church named “The Church of the Holy Royal Priesthood of the Living Stones”?
I would like to propose a new church name: Church of The Holy Royal Priesthood of the Living Stones. Do you like it? Would you go to that church? I don’t know if I would. I’d be thinking, “Huh? Something is off there.” I would really be suspicious of going to a church with thatContinue reading “Would you go to a church named “The Church of the Holy Royal Priesthood of the Living Stones”?”
Naming a new church is difficult (and the Bible might make it worse!)
Have you noticed the trend in the last 15-20 years to give churches unique names? For years Christian churches tended to be named by one of four methods. The first two methods are quite practical. First, it could be simply the location, usually connected to a denomination’s name. A church is named for its townContinue reading “Naming a new church is difficult (and the Bible might make it worse!)”
The cause and cure for spiritually malnourished Christians
Hey there, Christians. Quick question for you: are you spiritually mature? Take a few minutes and think about that. Pause reading the rest of this post, and really try to answer this question. I am concerned that though Peter is very clear in 1 Peter 2:1-3 that we need to crave pure spiritual milk fromContinue reading “The cause and cure for spiritually malnourished Christians”
Two odd but important Christian phrases about becoming spiritually mature
If you’ve ever watched a newborn nursing or drinking from a bottle, it is wild how hungry they can be. As they grow a few months, and they start to be a bit more aware, they can get very excited when you start talking about their bottle. They shake, they wave their arms, and sometimesContinue reading “Two odd but important Christian phrases about becoming spiritually mature”
5 church family killers
Yesterday our community learned that police apprehended a man who is accused of, 25 years ago, killing a local school teacher. He has been living and working in our community all these years. Here’s the freaky thing, he has a long career as a popular DJ, and he recently deejayed our daughter’s 6th grade end-of-yearContinue reading “5 church family killers”
That time the Bible teaches us to take off our dirty clothes and drink raw milk?
How much milk do you drink? And what kind? Skim? Whole? 1 or 2 percent? Milk is good stuff. And what I have found over the years is that people have lots of opinions about milk. My family is a skim milk family. I have heard some people call skim milk, “chalk water.” Some ofContinue reading “That time the Bible teaches us to take off our dirty clothes and drink raw milk?”
Engaging Scripture 