The typical knock on religion in secular, academic circles is that it was something primitive cultures came up with to explain the natural phenomena around them. They didn’t have science, so they conjured up an idea of “god” (typically “gods”) to explain the unexplainable. With our modern day technological and scientific discoveries, we can now […]
There is No Spoon: Learning to Follow Jesus from The Matrix
I just rewatched The Matrix (VHS version!) a few nights ago. It’s hard to believe this movie came out in 1999, yet another reminder that I am getting old. I had been thinking about the concept of the movie recently and how it relates to my walk with Jesus within the world we live in. […]
What Happens When We Get Grace & Works Backwards…
Is Jesus leading us to do our good works, or are we attempting to lead Jesus by our good works? Is Jesus’ power what is drawing people to God, or is it our attempts to convince people Jesus is powerful? Are we trying to get people to follow Jesus, or to follow our methods of […]
The Message of the Gospel: You Don’t Need to Improve
I remember hearing an interview with Derek Webb several years back where he was talking about grace and what the Gospel actually is. He said something to the effect of, “We can’t make God love us any more or any less that He already does.” When I first heard this, at that point in my […]
Preaching the Freedom of Grace, While Living The Opposite
I teach and preach about the grace of Jesus. About the freedom it brings. I then say “follow me as I follow Christ.” Yet for those who’ve been around me a while, I don’t think they’d describe my life as one marked by freedom.
When God Doesn’t Meet Our Expectations
We often make deals with God. God I’ll do this for you, if I get this in return. So when we don’t get what we wanted in return… the deal is off.