Are you feeling low this Christmas? Though there are Christmas lights everywhere, does your life feel like a dark place? In the sermon intro blog post, I introduced a story in the history of the Israelite nation of Judea. At the time, Hezekiah was King, and he was trapped inside the Judean capital city, Jerusalem. Continue reading “How to survive the holiday blues”
Author Archives: joelkime
Feeling low this Christmas?
Fear. Sadness. Longing. Disappointment. Loneliness. Are you feeling any of these emotions lately? It seems like the world can be a dark place. Even at this most joyous time of the year, we can feel low. As we look around our lives, our culture, and our planet, we can have a distinct impression that thingsContinue reading “Feeling low this Christmas?”
Life’s not fair, and Jesus is not at all OK with that
Do you ever feel like the world is not fair? Think about it. There are the powerful and the powerless. The predator and the prey. The lion and the mouse. This clip illustrates not just the lack of fairness in the animal kingdom, but the disadvantage in our society as well. Those born into privilegeContinue reading “Life’s not fair, and Jesus is not at all OK with that”
Turning guns into plows – Just a future vision? Or possible now too?
A vision of the mountain of God! We’re studying prophecy during Advent 2016, and week 1 takes us to Isaiah 2:1-5, a glorious image of events in the last days. The temple mount is in Jerusalem, and it is not all that high. When you think of tall mountains around the world, you don’t thinkContinue reading “Turning guns into plows – Just a future vision? Or possible now too?”
Is biblical prophecy just weird, or does it somehow actually matter?
Does the idea of prophecy weird you out? Does it seem hokey? People able to predict the future. Really wild visions of angels and dragons. The Bible is loaded with prophecy, and while it is definitely interesting to read, it is confusing and hard to understand. Prophecy is so weird that I usually avoidContinue reading “Is biblical prophecy just weird, or does it somehow actually matter?”
Why it shouldn’t matter to Christians if global warming is a hoax or not
Last week the Chinese confronted President-elect Donald Trump about his comments four years ago that they had created the hoax global warming. Christians have been fighting among themselves and with the larger culture about global warming and other environmental concerns for much longer than four years. It is all too easy for us to beContinue reading “Why it shouldn’t matter to Christians if global warming is a hoax or not”
Do we need to take global warming seriously?
This weekend we finish our series about Life in These United States. We have been talking about what everyone is talking about. I’ve enjoyed this series, though it has made me squirm from time to time! But as we conclude this series, we look forward to Advent. Yes, Advent begins next week. And during AdventContinue reading “Do we need to take global warming seriously?”
How to respond to people struggling with gender
In our Life in These United States Series, we are talking about what everyone is talking about. This week we look at the topic of gender distress. Months ago Bruce Jenner announced that for years he struggled with gender and was now Caitlin, changing his gender from male to female. Then Target stores said thatContinue reading “How to respond to people struggling with gender”
Can we talk about Gender on Sunday?
Can we talk about gender on Sunday without coming across as condemning? Mark Yarhouse, in a Christianity Today article from a year ago, talks about a person he worked with who had gender reassignment surgery: “Sara opened our first meeting by saying, ‘I may have sinned in the decisions I made; I’m not sure IContinue reading “Can we talk about Gender on Sunday?”
How to eat media
Last week I said that a college Shakespeare class and the movie Dumb & Dumber helped me change my mind about media. I thought I had this media thing all figured out when I was a teen. I was confident that there was no way it was affecting me. But as an adult I haveContinue reading “How to eat media”
Engaging Scripture 