The Foolishness of the Cross (A message preached by Barbara Shafer at Advocate Condell on 2/2/2014) Have you ever had the experience of not knowing how much you don’t know until you learn something and realize that what you thought you knew, you didn’t really know at all? Or the experience of preparing to teach […]
Did Jesus advocate redistribution? Yes. But not in the way you might think. Matthew 25:14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each […]
Mark 12: 38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a […]
This Scripture below is one of the favorites of those whose primary passion is Social Justice. Read this passage again and there are questions for reflection below. Matthew 25: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 […]
Well, I had a very interesting long weekend. Not a typical weekend, but a very rewarding one. I’ve been living in the grace of God, Doing it for the King, and engaging in Social Justice Done Right. Amid all kinds of talk about whether pastors should be extolling from the pulpit the benefits of government […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about God as King. I feel like we’re repeating history and it’s not good. There are few passages of Scripture that cut me to the core as this one (especially verses 7 and 22): 1 Samuel 8:1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 […]
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be […]
We’ve talked so far about the Christian Left as distinct from the Political Left and the same applied to the Christian and Political Right. There is a reason I’ve been using a train track analogy and today, we’ll explore a particular reason why train tracks accurately depict the interaction between people, God, and the culture. […]
Last week we were using a train track analogy to look at the priorities of the Christian Left and the Christian Right. Both priorities are completely Christian and valid. Both are necessary for the Body of Christ to do the work God has called us to do. We cannot look at the rail opposite our […]
Most people don’t have a hard time acknowledging the existence of the Christian Right even if they find it irksome. The Christian Right ranks in popularity along with Brussels sprouts and Lima beans among a wide swath of American culture. If you stop to analyze it with civility—as we did with the Christian Left—we will […]
