Posted in Bible thoughts on November 26th, 2007 No Comments »
When I read John 5, I cannot help but read it as a parent. As I watch our six-month-old grow, I constantly try to frame myself in the parent mindset (I’m still new at the whole “having a kid” thing). You definitely can’t prepare for everything as a parent, but it doesn’t hurt to have […]
Posted in Bible thoughts on November 19th, 2007 No Comments »
I finished Genesis, and I’ve decided to explore a Gospel next; so I chose the poetic, mysterious one: John. As we get ready to enter the season of Advent (even though the stores have already started their Christmas marketing), John 1 is a great passage to read. The section heading for it in my […]
Posted in Questions on November 15th, 2007 No Comments »
There was an interesting article this week about how many people, especially Christians, experience live music performances in church more than elsewhere. As an exemplar of the now decades old trend to have hip, peppy music in worship, the article looked at High Desert Church in Victorville, California, where “8,000 people attend at least twice […]
Posted in Bible thoughts on November 13th, 2007 No Comments »
In Genesis 48, Jacob (now called “Israel”) pulls yet another switcheroo. Instead of blessing Joseph’s two sons according to tradition—the eldest gets a larger blessing—he does the reverse. Manasseh, the older son, does not receive the greater blessing, and it goes to his younger brother Ephraim. “No, my father, this one is the firstborn,” Joseph […]
Posted in Bible thoughts on November 8th, 2007 No Comments »
Joseph is a much nicer man than I. In Genesis 45, after he has been reunited with his brothers, he tells them, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here” (v. 5). That is definitely not what I would have said to them.
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. […]
Posted in Questions on November 2nd, 2007 No Comments »
Recently, one of the largest churches in the country, Willow Creek Community Church, announced that it hadn’t really been helping people grow as Christians after all. The church’s intense, multi-media, marketing-heavy, glossy, programmatic approach to discipleship, with a priority in attendance numbers, apparently doesn’t foster deep Christian maturity. Who knew?
According to the church’s executive pastor, […]
Posted in Bible thoughts on November 1st, 2007 1 Comment »
Here’s what I don’t like about Genesis 41: God causes a famine. And not just in a small area of land, but all of Egypt (41:30), Palestine (42:5), and many surrounding countries (41:57). Call me crazy, but that just seems like a cruel thing for God to do.
In Genesis 25:41, when Joseph is about to […]