When my second son was a junior in high school, his soccer team experienced something that pretty much everyone at the game found disturbing. His team was very good that year, gaining the best record in their section, section one. As the section one winner, they were the top seed in the league playoffs, meaningContinue reading “A disturbing soccer game and some words teaching us to…Encourage one another, Part 1”
Tag Archives: christianity
Introducing a new blog series: Relationships in the church
This past fall, in front of the whole class, I had to disagree with one of my students. I was teaching Early Church, covering the New Testament books of Acts through Revelation. In that class session, a student remarked at how unified the early church was. It was early in the semester, so this studentContinue reading “Introducing a new blog series: Relationships in the church”
Are you struggling with fear? – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 2
Are things in our world getting worse? While politicians boldly declare that crime is on the rise, an FBI report says the opposite: “Not only has violent crime fallen 23% from 2002 to 2022, but also in the past year alone murders fell 6% and violent crime declined 2% overall.” (Source: Time) It can be difficultContinue reading “Are you struggling with fear? – New Year Psalm of Wisdom, Part 2”
God’s surprising role as judge – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 5
At the conclusion of Psalm 98, a psalm of joyous celebration, suddenly, all the joy and praise and glory seems to stop. Notice how the psalm concludes in verse 9b, “For he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Judge? What a different tone. WhatContinue reading “God’s surprising role as judge – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 5”
Two names for salvation – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 1
I recently saw an interview in which a former coach and player talked about the impact playing professional football had on his family around the holidays. He would either have to be completely away from his family, or they would all be together in a hotel because he would have a game on Christmas DayContinue reading “Two names for salvation – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 1”
Is Santa Claus…God? – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Preview
Is Santa Claus…God? Of course not, but they sure do share some characteristics, don’t they? When we think of God, while we Christians do not believe Santa Claus is real, the typical cultural conception of God is very similar to the typical cultural conception of Santa Claus. Both are all-seeing benevolent givers of gifts who liveContinue reading “Is Santa Claus…God? – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Preview”
The second leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 3
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. The Second Antiphon (Chant) 125-129 In this next section, the next antiphon or chant of the Psalms of Ascent, our journey continues and weContinue reading “The second leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 3”
Taking a journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 1
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. Does you like vacations? I have to admit, I don’t travel well. I get so stressed out about the travel process that, until IContinue reading “Taking a journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 1”
Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5
This week we’ve studied the parallel structure of Psalm 30. We’ve found matching points here, here, and here, and now we are left with verse 6, for which there is no match. It is the center of the structure. Because it doesn’t have a match, that means it is David’s most important point. What does heContinue reading “Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5”
This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4
As we study Psalm 30 this week, we’re discovering it’s parallel structure. We found its first matching pair of lines here, and we found its second pair here. To search for its third coupling, we first look at verses 4-5. These two verses are loaded with praise to God because, David says, God’s favor that lastsContinue reading “This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4”
Engaging Scripture 