Ephesians 1:3–14, Part 2 After a greeting, Paul begins his letter titled “Ephesians” with a grand eulogy of God. As I noted in the previous post, while we give eulogies praising people who have passed away, Paul’s eulogy praises God who is very much alive. After saying, “Praise God,” Paul lists numerous reasons why heContinue reading “We know where the heavenly realms are”
Tag Archives: eulogy
A surprising eulogy for God
Ephesians 1:3–14, Part 1 Here’s some insider pastoral info for you: when we counsel the family of the deceased, and when we officiate their funerals, we pastors sometimes straight up lie, talking about how great they were and how for sure they are in heaven. In reality pastors do not know that for a fact,Continue reading “A surprising eulogy for God”
Why David’s glowing eulogy of King Saul is wrong, and how we can do better at funerals – 1 Samuel 31—2 Samuel 2:7
Sometimes I find David difficult to figure out. One moment he has what appears to be a big emotional reaction, going so far as to commanding the capital punishment of the Amalekite, as we learned in the previous post. The next moment, David writes a glowing eulogy for King Saul and Jonathan. Look at 2Continue reading “Why David’s glowing eulogy of King Saul is wrong, and how we can do better at funerals – 1 Samuel 31—2 Samuel 2:7”
How to be a peacemaker (shocking lessons from an “insane” person!)
All week long, we’ve been looking at 1 Peter 3:8-12 where Peter teaches a very difficult thing to do: when people insult you, ask God to bless them. Is Peter saying you can never defend yourself? I would submit that Peter would answer, “No. You can defend yourself. But there is a right way andContinue reading “How to be a peacemaker (shocking lessons from an “insane” person!)”
How to handle difficult people: When they insult you, eulogize ’em!
I learned a shocking thing about eulogies, and in this post I’m going to reveal what I learned. This week we are studying 1 Peter 3:8-12, and so far we have learned the Top 5 adjectives that Peter says should describe a church family. Now he gets to some verbs, some actions that members ofContinue reading “How to handle difficult people: When they insult you, eulogize ’em!”
Why I am not a fan of eulogies (but why they are surprising important for church families)
I am not a fan of eulogies. I’ve told you before that one of the aspects of being a pastor that I was definitely not prepared for was death. It affects me. Some pastors tell me they love funerals, and can’t stand weddings. I’m the exact opposite. I love weddings. Funerals, though? No. I’m justContinue reading “Why I am not a fan of eulogies (but why they are surprising important for church families)”
Engaging Scripture 