The Spark that Started the Revolution
There is no Christianity apart from a cross and a resurrection. Both of those elements together. Not simply a cross but the Christ on the Cross. The resurrection was the spark that lit the flame.
The Kingdom of Heaven Is At Hand
Jesus came in the fullness of time born in Bethlehem during the days of Caesar Augustus. Rome was advancing across the world, securing its borders for a thousand-year reign of the Emperors. Rome was on the scene of history, but a small stone would soon grow into a mountain. Soon the name of the unknown child in Bethlehem would be the name Caesar would remember, and history would tell a story of families naming their children Jesus and their dogs Caesar. The movement sparked by Christ would soon be the name by which most of the world would identify.
In the Fullness of Time
This God who creates history with his hands concerns himself with your little plans
Lest you think you don’t matter
Consider the one who holds all things together
A closer look to him and you’ll see
He has you in the palm of his hands where he will keep you for eternity.
The Community Takes Root
The fires of the revolution that started from the grinding of the rolled away stone have reached our hearts and won’t stop until the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. Before the glory covers the earth, we are invited to let his glory cover us.
The Patient Influence of the Church
The Community of the Word
A community formed by the Word is a receptive community that listens and obeys. We, as the receptive community, have has a message for the world. That message, we have a word from God. That Word from God impacts everything and inevitably brings about change.
The People With a Living Memory
We are those that live now with a memory of the past in hopes of the future. A future we confess begins in some mysterious way today.
Thinking Christianly in Times of Crisis: Lessons from Cyprian’s The Mortality
Because of Christ, we have certainty as we face what seems like uncertain days. Because of Christ, we have the assurance of eternity that he has both brought near and is bringing near to the world. The worst of circumstances cannot thwart the purpose of his plan. God intends to bring the world to Christ. Trials and difficulty only serve to secure the hope of those who are in Christ.
The Paradox of Christian Confession
Our days are not too different from the earliest Christian confession. What separates us from the world is not what where we live or how we dress or any other singularity. Instead, what makes us different is we are in the world but not of the world. The way we act while in the world either proves or denies our confession.
Why I Love Reading the Early Church
The last few years have given me the opportunity to spend a significant portion of my study in the writings of the early church.