A few years ago the Gettysburg Battlefield celebrated the 150th anniversary of the terrible and momentous events of July 1-3, 1863 during our nation’s Civil War. Because my family lives about an hour away, we visited the battlefield hoping to see re-enactors. While we were there before any full battle re-enactment took place, at oneContinue reading “Re-enacting to remember [God’s heart for the holidays, part 2]”
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Giving our firsts to God [God’s heart for the holidays, part 1]
In your mind, can you recite the cycle of national holidays that tell the story of America. Get out a piece of paper, or start typing in a document. See if you can list out our holidays. Here’s a hint: where do you think we should start? July 4th, of course! There would be noContinue reading “Giving our firsts to God [God’s heart for the holidays, part 1]”
Should Christians have rules for holy living? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 5)
What are the rules for holy living? If you had to list some rules you have heard, what would you write? Holiness refers to purity, so maybe you would include rules about avoiding putting anything unclean into your body. Maybe you would include rules about washing, sanitizing, and purifying the water and air. Toxicity isContinue reading “Should Christians have rules for holy living? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 5)”
Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)
As I mentioned yesterday, God details his kosher law in his covenant with Israel. This week we are studying Deuteronomy 14:1-21, and yesterday we looked at the fairly extensive list of animals that God declares clean or unclean for Israel. But what about Christians? Are we to apply kosher law to our lives? Let’s lookContinue reading “Must Christians eat kosher? (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 4)”
Cutting, Shaving, and other detestable things (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 3)
In this series of posts we are studying what, at first glance, might be a strange chapter of the Bible, Deuteronomy 14. While it starts out with a fairly familiar concept, that we are sons and daughters of God, the phrase that comes next in verse 1 is really bizarre and might be surprising: “doContinue reading “Cutting, Shaving, and other detestable things (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 3)”
Live as adult children! (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 2)
How do you feel about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day? At Faith Church when Mothers and Fathers Days roll around in May and June, we take a cautious approach because we’ve heard from a number of people that these holidays are complicated. Maybe you know the feeling. It could be that your earthly mother orContinue reading “Live as adult children! (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 2)”
Eating fish heads (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 1)
What do you consider disgusting food? Brussels sprouts? Tomatoes? Hot dogs? Fast food? Fish? We all have our likes and our dislikes. For me, some of the most disgusting food I’ve had was on mission trips. In India it was some kind cow intestine or worse. In Malaysia I had Tom Yum soup which isContinue reading “Eating fish heads (how God’s list of clean and unclean foods in Deuteronomy 14 matters to Christians, part 1)”
What can satisfy the soul? part 4 (the drastic action needed)
We started this series of posts looking at satisfying videos, thankful for them, but noting that they cannot satisfy the soul. We talk about our phones yesterday and how they promise so much, but they, too, don’t satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. What can satisfy the soul? We found one answer: only GodContinue reading “What can satisfy the soul? part 4 (the drastic action needed)”
What can satisfy the soul? part 3 (can your phone?)
Our smartphones promise so much. Can they satisfy the soul? Take note today how often you use yours, and lift up your eyes and observe how often other people are on their phones. The first iPhone came out in June 2007, and in 12 years smartphones have swept the globe, with about one-third of everyContinue reading “What can satisfy the soul? part 3 (can your phone?)”
What can satisfy the soul? part 2
You are what you worship. Agree? Disagree? If I had said, “You are what you eat,” that would be a bit easier to agree with. Food goes in, metabolizes, fuels and shapes the body. You actually are what you eat. But what about worship? Does worship have the same affect on us as food? AllContinue reading “What can satisfy the soul? part 2”
Engaging Scripture 