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Racism. Racism can be defined as “prejudging people based on their race or ethnicity.” More expansively, we might say that
Racism is the ranking of people in terms of dignity or value based on their race or ethnicity, and treating them differently as a result.
Racism is incompatible with biblical theology. Prominent passages like Genesis 1-3 (with its affirmation of common human descent under God’s creative hands), Galatians 3:26-29, and Revelation 5:9-10 make that unmistakably clear. Continue reading
Five thousand people on Saturday gathered around a nativity scene in Athens Texas but it wasn’t to worship. A pastor (perhaps many pastors) showed up too but not to preach a typical sermon.
It was understandable, I guess, when the group seemed momentarily taken aback when I opened my Bible and suggested reading “the entire Christmas story.” You see, the night was already winding down at our church home-group meeting, and in the Gospel of Matthew that narrative runs a hefty 48 verses and in Luke it is longer still at 120 verses. No, I assured my friends, I wanted to read the entire Christmas story in one verse. (Well, technically two verses covering one sentence.) Though it does not mention shepherds or wise-men or inns or stables, it is nonetheless profound and compelling.
I’d like to share that verse here and then “unpack” it just a bit, section by section. It comes from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 4 verses 4-5: Continue reading
“What would you think if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?” Most of us know the tune and have probably sung or hummed it, even without thinking. Perhaps in the shower, or just mindlessly thinking about nothing at work or driving, we’ll hum, “Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song and I’ll try not to sing out of key.” And then, even as Christians, we continue with the chorus, “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends, mm, I get high with a little help from my friends.”
With this Beatles song, however, the meaning of the words are taken out of the original context and given Continue reading
Amid the turkey, family and friends often associated with Thanksgiving, faith is sometimes lost. At Bethel Recovery for Women in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Dr. John DeMassa reminded a small but interested audience – before dinner – how the first Pilgrims and Native Americans gave thanks for a harvest and each other during an autumn day in 1621.
Over the past ten weeks, my New Testament Greek students and I have taken an amazing journey. We’ve been holding class Monday evenings from 6:30-8:30 and have one or two more sessions to go. These students work full time, have families, and ministries (yes, a life!) yet they have been able to work on learning a new language: Koine Greek. Now, this is not your everyday speaking Greek, but what I call the most alive dead language, the language used to write the Gospels and Letters of our New Testament.These students have been able to learn enough to spend two hours this past Monday translating sentences from Greek to English. They worked on sentences straight from the New Testament, such as:
Ἴδε ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου. ὃς γὰρ ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος ἀδελφός μου καὶ ἀδελφὴ καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν.
Our students correctly translated this as:
Behold, my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:34b-35) Continue reading
When I say “I love you” to my wife or, even, to my kids, it means something distinctly different than when I say “I love you” to my friends, or neighbors, or to my cat. Why is that? It’s the same words. Shouldn’t they carry the same meaning? Well, of course not. We all know this. But why does the meaning of “I love you” mean something different? Because the phrase carries content—referent points that are poured into the word of phrase—that gives it meaning. We know that the content given to the phrase “I love you,” when used toward my wife and children, carries the idea of familial responsibilities: shelter, protecting, nurturing, discipline (at least for my children), romantic love (toward my wife), etc. When used toward non-family members the content changes—it better not mean the same thing; similar perhaps, but certainly not the identical.
The same is true for most words we use—there are reference points given to the words (or word) that pour content into it, disclosing meaning. This is especially true of words that are packed with content, that is meaning which stretches beyond the mere symbols, letters, and sounds of the word of phrase. One such word carries content that needs more examination, especially for the Christian and the Christian community. This word is “Gospel.” Continue reading
After almost thirty years of full-time ministry, and preaching (it is estimated) some thirty or forty THOUSAND sermons across Britain and the Colonies especially, but also in Bermuda and Holland, George Whitefield wrote this:
I long to break up fresh ground, and to begin to begin to do something for Jesus…
and
I would fain begin to do something for my God. O to work while it is day! O to be found on the full stretch for Him who was stretched, and who groaned, and bled and died for us! Unutterable love! I am lost in wonder and amazement…
Harold Camping of Family Radio has stood by his prediction that the end of the world is due on Friday. ”We can be sure that the whole world [will be annihilated] on 21 October 2011,” Camping maintains.
Continue reading
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