It is interesting how the Spirit works – I don’t know about you, but I cannot count the times that I have read a passage of scripture, a chapter in a book, or listened to a sermon and *BAM* within the next day or so I find that I need exactly what I heard/read.  What [...]

HT to FARK
According to the poll, taken by the business weekly Dagens Industri, 80 percent of Swedes said they had “much or very much trust” in the world’s largest furniture store chain, which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad. But only 46 percent of the 800 people surveyed said they trusted the Swedish church, which counts [...]

Call me Ishmael… Well, OK, don’t.
As I’ve been working through my study guide for Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis, I’ve tried to be fairly thorough in my reading not just of VE, but of referential background material, as it’s been availble. So, it’s an odd coincidence that the same day I started working on the [...]

I’ve heard the question a number of times, “If Jesus was performing all sorts of miracles, why didn’t people believe he was God’s Son?” It’s actually something I wondered for a long time that was answered in a way that made sense a few years ago, and in even more detail recently.
The answer, as [...]

Dinesh D’Souza, of the Hoover Institute, has written a piece analyzing the mass murders of history – particularly those in the 20th century – and dispells the myth that most of the mass murders of history have been done in the name of a religion.
[...]The problem with this critique is that it exaggerates the crimes [...]

Chapter 3 of Velvet Elvis, entitled ‘True’, is about (as the title suggests) truth, and where it can be found, both within the Christian faith, and within the ‘evidence of creation’, as described by Paul.
Here are the study guides (for the participant and facilitator/leader):
Velvet Elvis: True (Study Guide)
Velvet Elvis: True (Facilitator Guide)
Links to previous chapters:
[...]

A man came to a famous rabbi and asked, ‘how is it scriptures should be read? Literally, or within the original context or in some new way?’ The rabbi answered him thus:
“In the vineyards of the Lord, there was a wise farmer and a foolish one. At the time required for the [...]

Scot McKnight, of Jesus Creed, has posted the following letter to Emma, who had questions about Brian McLaren and the emergent church (as it pertains to McLaren’s writing).  It is a very thoughtful letter and gives me a little more background on McLaren than I had before.  You can check it out here.

Here’s a perennial “favorite” version of ‘O Holy Night’ that was sent to me awhile back.  Believe me, it just gets ‘better and better’ as it progresses.
While I have to admire this person for the talent it took to pull this off, this is why I’ve come to prefer original or instrumental Christmas music…
HT: Greg [...]

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to [...]