A few years ago I read, with a group for the church, Dante's Divine Comedy. It was one of the more difficult reads I've ever plowed through. The poem has three parts (each with multiple cantos): Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. In Canto 3 of Inferno, Dante passes through the Gates of Hell, which bear the … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: The Only Truly Hopeless Place
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Cutting Room Thorn: Thorns that Choke
Last week I had the chance to unpack the Parable of the Sower and Jesus' related conversation (Mark 4:1-20) about the purpose of parables. I did not spend much time discussing the nature of each soil, though I did not entirely skip it. Some hearers of the gospel are like hard ground (the path) that … Continue reading Cutting Room Thorn: Thorns that Choke
Cutting Room Floor: Love of Money and God’s Presence
This week, I preached from Joshua 1 where Joshua received his commission from the Lord to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Along with this commission comes the charge, "be strong and courageous", a charge repeated three times. This charge to be courageous is grounded, primarily, in the fact that Joshua was not being sent … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: Love of Money and God’s Presence
Cutting Room Floor: Two Mistakes.
Yesterday I preached from Psalm 120, the first of the Psalms of Ascent, or Pilgrim Songs. I made the point that this psalm is written for exiles/sojourners - "Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!" Both tribes mentioned were far from Jerusalem, hostile, foreign peoples. According to Peter, we … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: Two Mistakes.
Cutting Room Floor: Three applications of Colossians 1:15-20
Not every sermon needs to end with three points of application because sometimes, knowing the glory of Jesus better is the point of the sermon. Last Sunday sermon had application woven throughout - worship Jesus, submit all the areas of your life to Christ, etc., but the focus was definitely not practical application. There were … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: Three applications of Colossians 1:15-20
God Entranced 