This year has been a bit crazy. American politics are more than ever divided between the right and the left. Terrorism abroad and at home have people in fear and often their neighbors have become a source of that fear. Racial tensions are a powder keg of emotion and pain. It seems that there are divergent viewpoints on almost everything. In the theological world, pastors and scholars are under careful scrutiny for everything they do...
At the table sat seven fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and the other three apostles who at the very least were Jews. If you’re like me and grew up in 21st century United States, then that probably wasn’t the most eyebrow raising description. Except for the tax collectors, because I don’t think the majority of us have happy feelings when we think of the IRS. But what was it actually like? The fishermen were...
Last year I got to experience Hume Lake for the first time as a counselor. I was blown away at their focus on Jesus and emphasis on connecting students back to the local Church. You can read about my experience here. This post is dedicated to sharing what Jesus did in the lives of my students this past week as I was able to go for a second time with the same church as last...
This past week has been tough. Orlando, Paris, Tel Aviv, and many others have been a constant source of tears, heartache and mourning for the global community I know for me, death has hit home in a different way. Last week, my Grandma passed away at 89 years old. She was an amazing woman who was first and foremost, a Christian. She loved Jesus in so many ways, and in every way she embodied a older...
Every year, millions of families flock to the Happiest Place on Earth for its infamously well-rounded, old-fashioned entertainment and rides. So many of these individuals will visit Disneyland a mere handful of times in their lives, some even only once. I have the unique privilege of visiting the park at least 3 times a week… and getting paid for it. Just kidding, I work there, but it’s easy to view an hourly job in a...
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. The story of the prodigal son has inspired hope in countless individuals as they have processed their religious experience. Most sermons have incorporated the passage to be primarily directed at Non-Christians, the lost, the unsaved. Some have included Christians who have wandered away from their faith and are desperate to return. They see the faith of...
We’re on the home stretch of the next presidential election, and we’re left with three possible candidates: Bernie “Feel the Bern” Sanders, Hillary “Email Extraordinaire” Clinton, and Donald “I Have Big Hands” Trump. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I don’t fully identify with any particular candidate (though I do have my leanings, of course.) I certainly want the leader that not only represents me best in their speeches, but mostly in their...
People who know me or are even acquainted with me know that I worry—a lot—about almost everything. I become anxious over minor, insignificant matters. I overthink things. I often feel like things “just won’t work out” the way I hoped. Lots of people might be able to relate to this as they struggle with anxiety about their present situations or what the future might hold. Christians often struggle with anxiety over sin (issues of guilt,...
Owens, Mark D. As It Was in the Beginning: An Intertextual Analysis of New Creation in Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2015. Paperback. 241 pages. Retail: $29.00. ISBN: 9781498202404 In As It Was in the Beginning, Mark D. Owens compares “new creation” concepts in Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians through an intertextual analysis that focuses on Old Testament allusions and traditions. He suggests that the three letters exhibit a close correlation in...
QUEEN “Thou know’st tis common, all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity” HAMLET Ay, madam, it is common. Hamlet, Act I, Scene II As Hamlet reflects upon the death of his father, he mourns the brevity of life and the painful triviality of death. We too feel this as we survey what has befallen Paris, Bamako, Brussels, Ankara and Istanbul. These cities and their citizens felt the unnatural commonness of death. ISIS...
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