God Loves Religion
Some time ago, we began to examine the aphorism frequently heard in evangelical circles, "Christianity is not about religion, but about relationship." Religion and Relationship – Why Seek the Living…
The Myth of the Pharisees
Anyone with even a passing familiarity of the Bible has heard about the Pharisees. This group is mentioned dozens of times in the New Testament. They were often bitter opponents…
Not Of This World
In 1961, archeologists were excavating an ancient theater in the city of Caesarea, along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Caesarea became the capital of the Roman province of Judea in…
Setting Things Right Again
Last week we saw how Jesus' visit to Jericho brought about an extraordinary result: Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a man of great wealth, dramatically amended his life. In…
A Portrait of Salvation
Many of us grew up singing about Zacchaeus - the "wee little man"- in Sunday School. His story is found in Luke chapter 19. Jesus was passing through the city…
The Tears of God
The book of John is partly constructed around a series of miraculous signs performed by Jesus. The apostle describes seven such signs prior to Jesus' death & resurrection. The number…
The World Reborn
This Sunday is Easter, the most important day of the Christian calendar. However, it seems that many Christians don't fully understand the importance of Easter. If you ask churchgoers to…
Gentle Jesus, Meek & Mild
There is a widespread sentiment - both in our society & in some quarters of the church -that Christians ought to be "nice" people. And no doubt there is a…
Suffering, Sacrifice and Salvation
Yogi Berra, baseball Hall of Famer and master of malaprop, once quipped, "the future ain't what it used to be." Over the last several weeks, we've examined some of the…
The Trials of the Tribulation
Over the last few weeks, we've been addressing the issue of the rapture. Like King Belshazzar from the book of Daniel, the rapture has been weighed on the scales and…