In defining the gift of the Christian Sabbath, I think the Heidelberg Catechism strikes a lovely balance of creating anticipation, expectation and freedom about this day which the Lord of the Sabbath made for man without the restrictiveness of creating rules and policy. The question is asked: What is God’s will for you in theContinue reading “How should I spend the Lord’s Day, that Festive Day of Rest?”
Category Archives: Encountering Jesus
The Christian Sabbath IV: A Gift
I have bemoaned that most of the teaching I have heard on the Sabbath has been unsatisfying to me because it is either viewed as a policy with a list of joyless regulations or as an old-fashioned obsolete shadow of the past. The sabbath policy people imply that God loves the Sabbath and created manContinue reading “The Christian Sabbath IV: A Gift”
The First Day of the Week: Christian Sabbath Part III
B.B. Warfield nicely captures the first century transition from Jewish Sabbath observing on Saturdays to the Christian observance of the Lord’s Day on Sundays. His words follow… Our Lord, too, following the example of his Father, when he had finished the work which it had been given him to do, rested on the Sabbath—in theContinue reading “The First Day of the Week: Christian Sabbath Part III”
The Christian Sabbath: A New* View Part II
The Christian Sabbath is a day unlike the other six when work ceases and God’s people pause to worship together; a day designed to take us back to Eden and the perfect Creation while simultaneously launching us forward to taste Heavenly Rest. It is my belief that because of the popular positions held regarding theContinue reading “The Christian Sabbath: A New* View Part II”
The Christian Sabbath: A New* View Part I
This week I am going to write a series of four or so blog entries about the Christian Sabbath attempting to explain my personal view. Most of the teaching that I have heard on the Sabbath has been unsatisfying to me because it is either viewed as a policy with a list of joyless regulationsContinue reading “The Christian Sabbath: A New* View Part I”
Receiving uncomfortable grace
Too often we bury ourselves in the busyness of following Jesus and serving others instead of relaxing and receiving uncomfortable grace from Him. Our hearts are often resistant to love that it poured out on us, a resistance that forces our bodies to tighten up inhibiting us from receiving. I think about the tender actContinue reading “Receiving uncomfortable grace”
The discomfort and intrusion of Grace
We’ve all been in uncomfortable and awkward situations often involving someone who didn’t fully understand personal boundaries. Maybe it was a “close-talker,” a house guest who stayed too long, the neighbor who suddenly appears at your back door, or the friend who asks too many personal questions. Well, if you asked the Apostle Peter aboutContinue reading “The discomfort and intrusion of Grace”
The self-awareness and identity of Jesus
How do you humble yourself before a true enemy? How to you love and serve someone whom you know is going to turn on you and sell you out? How do you wash the feet of the one you know is going to betray you in just a few hours? At the Thursday gathering ofContinue reading “The self-awareness and identity of Jesus”
I would do anything for love, even that!
Meatloaf sang the popular song, “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that” which became an instant classic when Dr. Pepper picked it up for their commercial a few years ago. The commercial pictures a young man who would do anything for his girlfriend including the purchasing of her feminine products, theContinue reading “I would do anything for love, even that!”
The Unpredictibility of Living with Jesus
With the simplicity of click, drag and drop, Jesus exorcised the demons and sent them into the herd of 2,000 pigs who immediately ran down the steep bank and drowned themselves in the sea. Upon hearing the breaking news of the miraculous healing along with the bankruptcy of the BBQ industry, the Gadarene townspeople wereContinue reading “The Unpredictibility of Living with Jesus”
Lead, Laugh, Love 