sin (115)

Ian

Why of Baptism

John 1:19–28, John 3:22–28, Acts 19:1–7 (read online ⧉) Baptism holds a central place in the Christian church from its very beginning. The only other act that is of equal or perhaps greater importance is the Eucharist (i.e., Communion). Today, it is the ceremony/event by…

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Ian

Forgiven and Sent

2 Samuel 12:5–14, John 7:53–8:11 (read online ⧉) David’s behavior was wrong. Sadly, in the wider (non-Israelite) culture, it wasn’t all that unexpected. In fact, many of the pieces within the story show a progression that would have not surprised anyone hearing it, that is…

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Ian

Unmade To Become Whole

Deuteronomy 7:7–12, Deuteronomy 8:5–6, 2 Samuel 7:11–16, Hebrews 12:3–11 (read online ⧉) The way Deuteronomy 7:10 is often interpreted is as “…[God]…destroys those who hate him…” However, אָבַד (“awbad”) is also translated elsewhere in the Scriptures as broken or unmade. The concept of unmade or…

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Ian

Saturday after the Third Sunday of Advent

Psalm 51, John 3:27–29 (read online ⧉) This Psalm is the result of a person’s sin. This is not to say that the Psalm is about the sin per se, but about a person standing before God after being confronted about the sin. While there…

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Ian

Anticipatory Expectation

Romans 8:18–25, Revelation 5:1–10 (read online ⧉) What are we expecting? What are we anticipating? Expectation and anticipation are not always positive, as we often “wait” for the other shoe to drop. It is in this mindset that anxiety can step in and take over…

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