word | spirit | world | church
Why do some many people who go to church also dabble in some other form of religious behaviour? Why can’t we be pure like the church used to be? Peter Heather’s Christendom details evidence of widespread syncretism as the Roman Empire first became formally Christian. While not surprising, that’s probably not how we typically picture… Continue reading A Mixed Multitude
In 2 Chronicles 34, under the reign of the boy king Josiah, the book of the Law is rediscovered within the Temple. Which, on the face of it, seems pretty surprising. Judah is in a state where they rediscover Deuteronomy (or the whole Torah) and don’t recognise it or know it. Josiah’s response to having… Continue reading Losing the Bible
People say this a lot in evangelical churches, often deliberately referring to the worship of the church as 'sung worship' in an attempt to distinguish it from all the other things we do that are worship. I completely understand the heart behind it but do worry that if everything is worship then nothing is. Of… Continue reading All of Life is Worship?
When preaching on a passage I attempt to use a canon of commentaries. I’ve discussed this idea before, but in brief I want to make sure I’ve given myself a manageable amount of material to read to prepare my message while also covering four different types of commentary. It would be wonderful to have time… Continue reading A Canon of Commentaries
Luke mentions bread on ten occasions in his gospel (using the word 15 times). While we can’t hang too much on the numbers, and in that count I’ve included the word artos but ignored words like zyme (leaven), I think it might be indicative that Luke has a theology of bread. It’s interesting—to me, at… Continue reading Luke’s Theology of Bread
In a previous post, I outlined the way Luke uses Psalm 118 through his gospel. Most of that is collected in the last week of his life. Luke does something similar with Psalm 110, all of which is also located in that last week, in and around the Temple. Jesus directly quotes from Psalm 110… Continue reading Luke and Psalm 110
Luke’s gospel is full of references to the Psalms. In Jesus’ thesis statement for hermeneutical endeavour in Luke 24 he speaks of Moses and the Prophets, a typical Hebrew form of speaking, meaning the Old Testament. A few verses later when meeting with his disciples he says that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms testify… Continue reading Luke and Psalm 118.
Trees are one of the Bible’s major symbols. We know that because the cross is described as a tree and the Bible is bookended by trees. If we follow G. K. Beale in thinking that the bookends of the story are important in understanding that story, then Eden and the New Jerusalem are ever before… Continue reading Zacchaeus the Fig
The church is facing a number of issues right now. Here in the UK the ongoing crisis of leadership in the wake of numerous high-profile cases of Pastors abusing their positions might be the most obvious. I’ve written about another crisis, of discipleship, where the average Christian’s faith doesn’t touch the sides of their life. Christians… Continue reading Living within the tides of crisis
Have you ever noticed that in Genesis chapter one, the days are the wrong way around? When I say the wrong way around, I mean backwards to what we expect, and before you rush off to compare the order of creation and question whether it means anything meaningful that the sun and moon come so… Continue reading Evening, then Morning
