Last night I was talking with a friend about some of the world's glaring evils. It was a good, but hard conversation and I was sad afterward. A heaviness settled in. I went to the basement, turned on football and grabbed a book I was trying to finish off (it had grown tedious). But a … Continue reading Flooded with Glory
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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
Book Review: “Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism,” by Mark David Hall
A friend asked me to read this recent book (2024) by Mark D. Hall, a professor in the School of Government at Regent University. The book is helpful in some areas, a bit too shallow in others, and outright deficient in one. Let me begin by summarizing Hall's central thesis: Christian Nationalism is an unchristian, … Continue reading Book Review: “Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism,” by Mark David Hall
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.
God Entranced 