Last Sunday, I had the chance to preach from the story of Gideon (Judges 6-8). I focused not so much on Gideon, but on God as the main actor in the story. God overflows in grace towards a persistently rebellious Israel. God raises up a deliverer. God rescues his people, and does so in such … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: Christ will build his church
cutting room floor
Cutting Room Floor: That’s just the way things are done.
On Sunday, I preached on James 3:13-18, contrasting true, godly wisdom with wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. I had a section that came from my personal devotional reading that I cut for time. False wisdom, or worldly wisdom, often has a veneer of genuineness to it because it gets results. But it doesn't … Continue reading Cutting Room Floor: That’s just the way things are done.
Spiritual Dump Truck
On Sunday, I preached from the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). There's lots of details and lots of theology there, so I had to cut out a discussion of an odd Hebrew word. In Leviticus 16, a word appears 4x, and it is the only time the word appears anywhere in Scripture. The word azazel … Continue reading Spiritual Dump Truck
Cutting Room Floor: The Only Truly Hopeless Place
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
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
God Entranced 