perspective ⁽¹⁵⁰⁾

Joshua 4:1–7; Joshua 8:30–35; Proverbs 27:17 What do you remember? What “traditions” or practices do you remember from your childhood? What did that teach you? Over the years, the church universal developed many practices to teach the faith to its people. It often had a…

Matthew 24:42–44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2–6; Revelation 16:12–16 Calling God a thief seems more than just a little ridiculous. Yet, Jesus uses the imagery of a thief to talk about the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is an ambiguous phrase. Many (perhaps…

Matthew 18:15–20; Luke 5:23–32 There is nobody beyond God’s redemptive reach. No one. No matter what a person has done or how “unclean” they may be, God is still there waiting. Tax collectors were not well appreciated. We generally are scornful of the IRS. The…

Deuteronomy 5:26–27; Ezekiel 33:11; Luke 20:34–40; John 5:39–40; John 8:56–58 A living God? To many people today, God is just a fairy tale who belongs amongst the pages of Grimm’s fairy tales and folklore. For them, God is no different than the ancient Roman and…

Matthew 16:13–17; Romans 10:6–14 In the US, individuality is all the rage, and it has been since at least 4 July 1776. Individuality is not a bad thing, automatically. While there are many aspects to our faith that are indeed communal (and must remain that…