Rejecting the Way of the Sword

Trading in Selfish Ambition for Sacrificial Love On January 6th, 2021, a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the federal Capitol Building in Washington D.C. in defiance of Congress moving to confirm the President’s electoral defeat.1 The group who besieged the Capitol was largely made up of self-identified Christians fueled by a long-developing […]

That They May Be One

John’s Vision of Church Unity The Gospel of John has been one of the most famous and widely-read books in the Christian Church from the time it was written and first circulated almost two thousand years ago, all the way up to our present day. John contains probably the most famous verse of the Bible,1 and some […]

Where The Gospel Meets COVID-19

Disease, Decay, and the Promise of a New Creation This topic needs no introduction. The pandemic that is COVID-19 (meaning coronavirus disease 2019, also commonly referred to simply as “coronavirus,” which is the term that will be used hereafter in this article) is impacting every facet of life in the Western world. At the time […]

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

Claiming the Hope of the Psalmists for the Church The Church has claimed Israel’s Scriptures, Israel’s story, and Israel’s God as its own. If, as we contended in the previous post in this series, the Church is to read Israel as our own “origin story,” then we would do best to also appropriate the hope […]

No King in Israel

Exploring Biblical Divisions as Familial Conflicts in the Old Testament The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) often refers to God’s people, Israel, using communal, group language. They are depicted as speaking with one voice, moving as one body and possessing a unified will. Paradoxically, this unity among God’s people is often shown simultaneously alongside a portrayal […]

Follow Jesus Through the Wilderness

A Look at Hebrews What is the Book of Hebrews? Hebrews is a letter written to a group of second-generation followers of Jesus (2:3); this letter is specifically addressed to a congregation of Jewish Christians (1:1-2), which is why it was given the name it now has in early Christian tradition. Canonically (meaning, in the […]