Five Errors to Drop From Your Easter Sermon
- Don’t say Jesus died when he was 33 years old.
- Don’t explain the apparent absence of a lamb at the Last Supper by only saying Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb.
- Don’t say the same crowds worshiped Jesus on Palm Sunday and then cried out for his crucifixion on Good Friday.
- Don’t bypass the role of the women as witnesses of the resurrected Christ.
- Don’t focus on the suffering of Jesus to the extent that you neglect the glory of the Cross in and through the Resurrection.
My Top 7 Goals to Accomplish on Easter Sunday
In this post, I want to share what I actually hope we accomplish on Easter Sunday. Only 7 things. If we accomplish nothing else, and there are probably many other things we will accomplish Easter Sunday, I hope Immanuel Baptist does these 7 well.
Faith Involves Your Brain, Too
You see, the American church has done an excellent job of catering to a devotional or emotional style of spirituality—and that’s a good thing! But it’s also a bad thing, because it leaves a lot of us, the ones for whom “nothing happens” when we try to grow closer to God that way, out in the cold.
9 Groundbreaking Scientists Who Happened to Be Christians
However, what is frequently lost in all this is that the history of science is rich with believing Christians, for whom the process of discovery did not jeopardize their faith, but enforced it. These people are reminders that science is not a threat to be feared, but a journey we can embrace with confidence, knowing that all truth can only be revealed as God’s truth. In that spirit of exploration, here are just a few of the many scientists who have done groundbreaking work—and just so happened to be Christians.
Regarding the “Jesus Wife Fragment”
Many bloggers and commenters seem to be unaware that Professor King herself believes this fragment tells us nothing about the actual marital status of Jesus. In her view, the text presents a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. The five references to women (line one: “my mother, she has given me life;” line three: “Mary is worthy of it;” line 4: “my wife;” line 5: “she is able to be my disciple;” line 7: “I am with her”) provide evidence that Jesus regarded women, wives, and mothers as his true disciples. Those who are aware of the important role played by women in the ministries of Jesus and Paul may find this assertion a bit underwhelming, but King considers the fragment’s positive view of women as a counter-point to the asceticism and negative view of sexuality which came to be common in ancient Christian communities.
7 Reasons We Don’t Make Disciples
- We are ignorant of the Great Commission.
- We have not been discipled ourselves.
- We prefer programs over relationships.
- We are impressed with size.
- We lack patience for the process.
- Our personal brokenness prevents us from healing others.
- We want churchgoers to stay immature.
What The Church May Need Is What The Church Does Not Want
Persecution is a fretful matter. It is too big for me to give adequate emphasis. However, from the onset of the Jesus movement in Acts up to this moment in history, the persecuted nations are the places the church does what we wish it would do in the secure nations: explode.
Sometimes Getting Along Comes Down To How You Say ‘Gravy’
Cultural codes like these undergird all of our interactions, yet they remain almost impossible to see. They’re the air we breathe. But not only are those rules invisible — they change, as do the people to whom those rules might apply. That means we often don’t know when we’re violating them, and we’re often oblivious to the consequences of doing so.
Sad panda gets her own amusement park
Sijia became very lonely and sad after her friend was sent back to Shichuan so the zoo cheered her up with an amusement park containing a swing, parallel bars, and a television where she can watch other pandas. The zoo says her spirits have lifted and they hope they can introduce her to another panda so she can have a companion in her new home.