Exploring the First Century Church: Mission (Part 2)
In spite of the persecution and in spite of their lack of technology…the early church experienced explosive growth. A quick glance at the book of Acts reveals just how much the church was growing in...
View ArticleLiving Between the Cups…which Passover Cup Jesus used at the Last Supper and...
When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper we are told that it was in the context of a Passover meal. Mark 14:12-18 says, 12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to...
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Bio Sketch of James the Brother of Jesus
In studying for a class on the book of James I ran down some information on the author, James the half-brother of Jesus that I found extremely helpful in understanding the letter itself. James is the...
View ArticleResurrecting Evangelism…Here is One Missing Piece to Viable, Intentional...
I just posted something over at Wineskins that I think you may find helpful. If you have a couple of minutes you might want to give it a read Resurrecting Evangelism…Here is One Missing Piece to...
View ArticleWhat it Takes to get on the path toward meaningful outreach
I just posted this over at Wineskins and invite you to give it a read. I think we have some real issues to overcome here and am confident we will get over this, Resurrecting Evangelism…Calling a...
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Three Gardens
The opening scene of humanity is set in a garden..the perfect place. All is provided. Man and woman in perfect harmony. Naked and unashamed. God walking with man and woman…unhindered. Enter serpent,...
View ArticleMamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be…Preachers?
A few weeks ago I asked my Wednesday night class this question, “How many of you would want your children or grandchildren to be preachers?” There were a few who could make a case for it but many could...
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Open Tombs, Fight or Flight and Making Sense of Mary in John 20
When you are young you do foolish things…things you look back on and wonder “What was I thinking?” or think about all the bad things that could have resulted from your decisions. We had a youth group...
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Logos Free Book of the Month: N.T. Wright’s “The Lord and His Prayer”
Every month Logos offers one free resource…always something to check out. To see what they have given away and to keep up with the latest including “The Lord and His Prayer” see this link. This month’s...
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Christianity, Creeds and Churches of Christ…No Creed But the Bible?
The last post looked at who the inspired apostolic writers saw as “false teachers.” Next, let’s look at where things went after that in the early church and then spend a few minutes on Churches of...
View ArticleIf You Want To Understand Church, Start With Jesus
If you want to wrap your mind around church you can’t just stick with Paul, you have to go to Jesus. If you want to wrap your mind around Jesus you can’t just go to the Gospels, you have to go to the...
View ArticleReconciliation Gone Wrong: The Mistake of Seeing Ourselves as the Reconciler
I shared a story over at Wineskins today that I think is helpful in understanding the core of reconciliation. Reconciliation is all about God and His purposes. We are merely tools in His hands....
View ArticleShifting the Locus From Church Building to Home
We often think of Judaism’s worship as being centered around either the temple or the synagogue. What is missing is that the vast majority of the spiritual life in Judaism was in the home. The Shema...
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The Bible in Translation: 450 BC to 1500 AD
I was fortunate enough to visit the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit in Los Angeles last week. It was amazing seeing all of the items that were in the exhibit that touched on so many things from the Old...
View ArticleInterpretation Even Impacts the Formatting of Scripture
You may not pay much attention to it but there are interpretations that affect the way Bibles are formatted. Here are a few places this shows up: Red letters: There are passages of scripture that are...
View ArticleWhy Do We Exist?
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our...
View ArticleChurches of Christ and the “Restoration Institution”– Part 1
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Restoration Movement, of which I am a part, it started in the late 1700s in an attempt to bring unity to Christianity. The Restoration ideal was that if we...
View ArticleProgressives, Conservatives and a Restoration Agenda Above the Labels
I was trying to explain to someone the other day how if I am progressive it is only in the sense that I believe progressivism and biblical overlap. I am not a camp, tribe, or side person as best as I...
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The Unseen Realm By Michael Heiser
I don’t usually start off book reviews like this but I want to encourage you to read Michael Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm.” My typical approach to a review is to tell you what I think about it and then...
View ArticleRevelation, Seven Churches and Teasing Out the Parts from the Whole
To Ephesus: “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them...
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