Trust and Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Part 4 In Luke 6, Jesus makes the shocking assertion that the poor are in favorable circumstances, because theirs is the Kingdom of God. The people in the crowd that day listening to his Sermon on the Plain would have been blown away by this. Jesus’ ideas soundedContinue reading “Your physical circumstances do not reveal what God thinks of you”
Tag Archives: beatitudes
What Jesus might say about Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation passage
Trust & Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Part 3 Jesus knew what life was like for the people in the crowds that followed him, crowds such as the ones we read about Luke 6. He knew what their lives were like because he lived that life for 30 years before he started his ministry. JesusContinue reading “What Jesus might say about Elon Musk’s $1 trillion compensation passage”
A new kind of Beatitude
Trust & Obey, Week 3: Luke 6, Part 2 The picture above shows the text of two of Jesus’ Beatitudes. From memory, can you say any of the others? As the picture points out, you can find the text of the Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew chapters 5–7. The BeatitudesContinue reading “A new kind of Beatitude”
How to put our hope in the right things – Advent Hope, Part 3
This week I once again welcome guest blogger, Kirk Marks. Kirk is a retired pastor of 30 years who now works in international fair trade. A couple years ago, I reached a direction-changing point in my ministry career. Some things that I had worked very hard on for a long time, and that I hadContinue reading “How to put our hope in the right things – Advent Hope, Part 3”
Jesus’ culture-bending teaching – Breastplate of Righteousness, Part 1
From an ancient military standpoint, the breastplate is piece of armor covering the chest, primarily to protect the heart and lungs from the possibility of being pierced by arrows or blows from blades and stones. It is very similar to Kevlar bullet proof vests that contemporary soldiers wear. In Ephesians 6:14b, the apostle Paul continues,Continue reading “Jesus’ culture-bending teaching – Breastplate of Righteousness, Part 1”
Why Jesus says the poor are blessed – Luke 6:17-26
We want to be rich. We do not want to be poor. In Luke 6:17-26, however, Jesus takes that normal desire and turns it on its head. He says the poor are blessed, while he says “Woe” to the rich. To understand why in the world he would say that, we need to take aContinue reading “Why Jesus says the poor are blessed – Luke 6:17-26”
Engaging Scripture 