Bible

John 1:18: Bring on the Stupid

John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” I think the meaning of this sentence is clear: God is a Siamese twin. And half of him is shy. Well, there go plans for never dying. I’m officially lucky [...]

Read More →

Ten Ways Christians Tend to Fail

1078182_failure

Speaking as someone who … well, fourteen years ago had the conversion experience I recounted in I, a Rabid Anti-Christian, Very Suddenly Convert, we Christians too often fail in these ten ways: 1. Too much money. “Wealthy Christian” should be an oxymoron. In Luke 12:33, Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” [...]

Read More →

John 1:17: Where “Truth” Depends on Your Translation (!)

Today we’re considering John 1: 17, which reads (in the NIV translation): “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Seems simple enough, right? Law comes from men; grace and truth come through Jesus Christ. Except, wait. Stop. Back up. I understand the part about grace having come through [...]

Read More →

John 1:16: It’s All Groovy Like a Movie

John 1:16 reads: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” I appreciate the phrase “one blessing after another” as a catalyst for challenging our usual perception of time and space. It’s so easy to read those (now) common words, and think of God’s blessings in our lives as [...]

Read More →

John 1:6-15: Read It and Weep

Hi, guys. Today I’m looking at John 1:6-15. Here we go: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. [For those of you who might not know, The Gospel According to John was written by John when he was an old man looking back at the time when, as a much [...]

Read More →

John 1:5: The Archer’s Grief

714639_bible_study

Today we’re considering John 1:5, which reads: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” I think this deceptively simple sentence is way too easy to skip over. People usually do nothing with it beyond equating “darkness” with those who refuse Christ, who reject his divinity, who are either too [...]

Read More →

Posts by Theme

Christian Issues

The Best Case For the Bible NOT Condemning Homosexuality

justicesizeforblogsmall

No Christian has to choose between their compassion and their faith in the Bible.

Read More →

Relationships

Joseph to Mary: “Who could believe such a thing?”

143066_hold_my_hand

A conversation between Mary and Joseph the night before Jesus was born.

Read More →

Christian Spirituality

What Jesus Left Out of The Great Commandment

images-1

Here’s what Jesus left out of the Great Commandment—and why.

Read More →

Humor

Worst Trucking Slogan EVER

Picture 1

Truck drivers are so weird.

Read More →

Pastor Bob's Corner

A Primer on Islam: The Basics (Lesson 1 of 6)

pastorbob1

Hi. I’m Pastor Bob. This is the first lesson of a multi-week class on Islam I taught for a large gathering of folks from multiple congregations: Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, recovering agnostics, etc.

Read More →

Personal

When Etta James had her way with me

etta-james

Right there, in front of all sixteen of us, Etta James became Etta James.

Read More →