In this series, I was planning on addressing a rule of thumb approach for sorting out situations from a distance. You are not the judge, jury, or executioner, but you do read various blogs, and you see scandals and gaffes processed on the evening news, and you read the newspaper. What are you to do …
The Cape and Beret Problem
“The artist was still the Gentleman, not yet the Genius. After the French Revolution, artists began to leave the salons and cénacles, which were fraternities of like-minded souls huddled at some place like the Café Guerbois rather than a town house; around some romantic figure, an artist rather than a socialite, someone like Victor Hugo, …
Corporate Servanthood
“The answer is found in the nature of corporate servanthood. When a school establishes itself to serve parents by teaching certain subjects to the kids, this does not mean that any given family has complete authority over the school. What happens is that the school clearly notifies the families of a given community what service …
Me or Your Lying Eyes?
In dealing with charges made against anyone, one of the first thing that judicious elders should do is divide the witnesses into two categories. Why is this? The scriptural requirement is two or three witnesses. Now, think for a moment. What is meant by or? Two or three? Which is it? Does God want us …
And I Delight In Statute Law
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Before a youth can cleanse his way, What can he try to do? By taking heed to all the Word, By seeking God with all his heart, And from His law not wander off. God’s Word is hidden in my heart, That …
Please. Come In.
Once there was a man with gifts in accounting, but it has to be said that he became intolerable. He, of course, did very well at his job, which was an accounting job, but his problem was that he could not be made to understand that all of life was not like that. He thought …
Dealing With Obstacles
This observance does not just knit believers together in the great koinonia—although it certainly does that. It also deals with obstacles to us being knit together, and if we keep coming to the Table in faith, it overcomes those obstacles. We are partaking of Christ as we eat and drink here. But we are partaking …
What Universe?
As I continue my kibbitzing about postmodernism, using Stanley Grenz’s primer on the subject for my launching points, I want to reiterate that I am not yet directly critiquing Grenz. There are some indirect critiques of how he represents the pomos, but we won’t see until later in the book how much distance he (successfully …
Hamas, Pat Robertson, Little Geneva, and You
All right. Let’s stop fooling around with the tame stuff and talk about ethnically sensitive issues. Pat Robertson recently put his foot in it by saying that God was judging Ariel Sharon (via that stroke) because Sharon dared to divide the land of Israel (by relinquishing Gaza). The general outcry was indignant and self-righteous, and …
Apostle and High Priest
In this next portion of Hebrews, we see a wonderful unity, where the writer ties together heaven and earth, Old Testament saints and New Testament saints, and Christ and Moses. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who …