Cutting Room Floor: Christ will build his church

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: 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.

Just War in Christian Theology

As an undergraduate, I studied Political Science at Houghton College with aspirations to become a lawyer in the Marine Corps. Midway through my time in college, I shifted my career path towards ministry but kept the major, adding a minor in Bible and Theology. My senior thesis combined my minor and major, political science and … Continue reading Just War in Christian Theology

The Imperial Cult of Rome, and America

My dad had eclectic music tastes, ranging from Country Western (ie. Marty Robbins) to oldies (i.e Beach Boys) to oddities (i.e. we listened to Bette Midler's 'The Rose' on repeat one year driving from Florida to NY). And then there were the church songs, the Christian songs. A song I remember from my childhood had … Continue reading The Imperial Cult of Rome, and America

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