I have been waiting to review one of my favorite movies from 2012 for quite some time, Cabin in the Woods. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to blog about it, and more importantly, I knew I needed to review it this week—Holy week. Perhaps you’re thinking, this is totally random; why is he reviewing a movie from last year during a time when he should be reflecting on things like...
1. Discipleship is about a Relationship Michael Wilkins has defined a disciple of Jesus as one who “has come to Jesus for eternal life, has claimed Jesus as Savior and God, and has embarked upon the life of following Jesus.”[1] His very presence in my life and his promise to never leave nor forsake me, encourages me to daily follow Him. At the heart of following Him is this undeserved relationship I have...
In preparation for our Ecclesia and Ethics conference (ecclesiaethics.com), we’re putting together a few video interviews to raise interest and excitement. Check out this short interview we did with Shane Claiborne. For some reason the video didn’t record, but the audio is great. Our future interviews will contain video. Enjoy and please share! Ecclesia and Ethics Interview Shane Claiborne — 2/5/2013 from Ecclesia Ethics on Vimeo.
I don’t remember ever saying this, but here goes. I’ve never been more confident of my salvation. I’ve never felt so secure. I’ve never been so satisfied in Christ. And yet, at the same time, I’m more aware of my sin, ready to acknowledge it, even willing to tell people about it. Sound like a paradox? Welcome to the Christian life. I’m convinced that a true understanding of the gospel allows these two truths to...
As a student of the New Testament, I am one of those odd characters who enjoys the minutia of grammatical details in the original languages and especially their interpretative significance. Yet what motivates me in working through the details is primarily a genuine application of discipleship to Jesus. Today’s post comes primarily as a review/summary of an interesting chapter I recently read on discipleship by J. Ramsey Michaels entitled, “Going to Heaven with Jesus: From...
A pastor once told me that God’s people are simply pawns in his ultimate plan to glorify himself. Seriously. He said “pawns.” That would be a great metaphor if chess players actually loved their pawns, but they don’t. The world’s greatest chess player never loved his pawns, much less died for them. So when I asked him about his semantic mishap, he said perhaps it’s better to say we’re “incidental” to God’s plan. I’ve heard...
I am notorious for listening to Christmas music at any time of year. This produces a gamut of responses from utter disparaging of the thought to confessions of similar behavior. My reason is never an attempt to sustain the festivities long past their due. Rather, I am deeply and profoundly encouraged by the gift we celebrate at Christmastime, the gift of the incarnation. God truly did so love the world that He gave His Son,...
We’ve all heard it before—Bill O’Reilley’s rants over the “War on Christmas”. Bill doesn’t like when people call Christmas trees, “Holiday Trees”. He thinks gender-neutral toy commercials offend the little baby Jesus, and don’t even think about taking the “Christ” out of Christmas. But I am here today to tell you about a different war on Christmas — a war that impacts over 19.7 million people every year. This war is so painful, and brings...
Anyone who’s come over for dinner has seen my collection of Peruvian oil paintings of the Virgin Mary. Several years ago, a spending spree and newfound obsession with Catholic art (despite being a Reformed Baptist) landed me with a few too many Marys: three hanging in the hallway and one above my bed. Buyer’s remorse aside, they’re gorgeous. Several of them depict the virgin mother cradling the infant Jesus—a beautiful, visual reminder of the miracle...
Was Jesus always nice? OK, so it’s not the deepest theological question we’ve ever tackled here at The Two Cities. But it’s an important one. Because, above all, the world expects Christians to be nice. Forget about holiness, evangelism and social justice. Just be nice. But if Christians bear any resemblance to Christ (and we should), we won’t always be nice—at least not by man’s standard. Spend a little time with your Bible and you’ll...
Recent Comments