Three Truths and Three Warnings – Mark 8:27-38
Three Truths and Three Warnings
The disciples confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, but they did not understand what that meant and what the Messiah was about to suffer for our redemption. The horror of the lynching tree helps us to grasp the horror of the cross, even as the cross of Christ, in contrast to the lynching tree, stands for the power of redemption and the hope of the resurrection.
Preaching Hebrews: The End of Religion and Faithfulness to the End
Hebrews is a powerful meditation on the gospel. Like Jesus in the Gospels, Hebrews sees the fundamental difference between apostasy and faithfulness as the difference between a religion about God and a Christ-centered relatioinship with God.
A Christian View of Sports: Intensity without Ultimacy
Sports have gripped the soul of our culture, and they are not about to let go. ESPN and Fox Sports usher us from one mountaintop religious experience to another. Sports trigger our adrenaline and fire our passions. We are possessed, enthralled, and captivated by the spiritual power of sports. They do more than entertain us; they define us. There are so many positive reasons to participate in sports, as both athlete and spectator, that if I were to list them all, we might surmise that a few excesses in the name of sports should be no big deal.
A Pastoral Response to American Politics
The polarized American political scene in 2017 provides a unique challenge for Christians regardless of their political parties, affiliations, and ideologies, to re-examine a biblical perspective on politics. It is reasonable to conclude that living under the rule of Christ should impact the way Christians view politics and culture.