Archive by Author

God’s Word is More Powerful Than We Realize

March 26, 2012 in Practical Theology with 0 Comments

Imagine you are Peter, Jesus’s disciple. One day, he invited you to go hiking with James and John up a mountain. You reach the top, soak in the scenery around you, breath in the fresh air, and just start thinking about how nice a nap would be. Then you turn to face Jesus, and suddenly a nap seems less likely than sinking in the dead sea.

Mountain Top

He has completely transformed. His face shines like the sun and his clothes are so white and bright you can barely look at them. His glory holds your gaze, but you then notice he is not alone. Elijah and Moses are there also, in the same glorious form as Jesus, and are talking with him.  Continue Reading…

Reader’s Guide to 1 Samuel

March 21, 2012 in The Whole Story with 0 Comments

The Big Picture:

1 Samuel ends the period of the Judges and begins the age of the Kings. It is a historical book and reads like a story about heroes.

Fugel David gegen Goliath

There are three key leaders of Israel in this book, and each gets plenty of “screen time.” The first is Samuel, who is the final great judge of Israel and the one who anoints the first two kings. The second is Saul, who is the first King of Israel. Finally we meet David, who is considered the greatest King of Israel. In this book, we will see Saul’s honor declining as David’s honor increases. The story ends with the death of Saul. Continue Reading…

A Challenge to #LiveFully

March 19, 2012 in Abundant Life, Cultural Connection, Practical Theology with 0 Comments

Hey everyone, I wanted to tell you about a new website I’ve been working on with one of my good friends. It is called #LiveFully, and you can find it at www.livefullyblog.com.

We are launching it big this week, and could really use your support. We’re giving away tons of bumper stickers and 10 free t-shirts! Winning is really easy, so you should definitely check it out. If you’re wondering what #LiveFully is all about, check out this sweet video or you can read our core values below.

Vision:

Our vision is to unite a global community that believes following Jesus is the most full life

AND

to positively change how followers of Jesus are perceived in mainstream cultures of the world

mission

to celebrate followers of Jesus impacting (not escaping) culture

and

to inspire others to do the same

convictions

Jesus alone redeems people and cultures

the redemption of Jesus transforms every area of personal life and positively impacts every sphere of cultural life

followers of Jesus should be most recognized for what they contribute to the world rather than what they are against in the world

Why Jesus is More Powerful Than We Imagined

March 14, 2012 in Practical Theology with 0 Comments

Let’s do some simple math here. I think it will give us a good picture of how powerful Jesus is.

In Matthew 26:53, Jesus gets arrested. Peter attempts to save him by cutting off the ear of a servant of the high priest. Jesus responds by healing the ear and saying, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?”

DSCF3355

Jesus tells Peter that he can protect himself. But we often breeze through this passage without thinking about what twelve legions of angels truly means. Continue Reading…

Guide to the Book of Ruth

March 5, 2012 in The Whole Story with 0 Comments

 The Big Picture

The book of Ruth is an amazing story of love and loyalty that demonstrates God’s incredible plan for the world. It stands tall at only 4 chapters, but it’s rich with foreshadowings of Christ.

Field of Boaz

Romantic hearts will certainly love this story, and it is a real encouragement for those who are going through hard times. Here we will see that God does make things work together for our good, and that His plan of redemption is better than we can imagine.

Continue Reading…

Guide to The Book of Judges

February 29, 2012 in The Whole Story with 1 Comment

The Big Picture:

Judges follows a pretty simple formula:
1) People reject God.
2) God sends the Midianites/Philistines/whoever to wreak havoc on the Israelites.
3) The Israelites cry out for help.
4) God raises up a “judge” who is able to save the people from their enemies.
5) Although the judges are imperfect, throughout their rule the people tend to follow God and their is peace in the land.
6) The Judge dies, and the people quickly reject God again.

Barbieri, Giovanni Francesco (Guercino) - Samson Captured by the Philistines - 1619

Samson Captured by the Philistines

This process repeats itself in a downward spiral, with each judge and each rejection of God getting a little bit worse. The book is probably the most graphic and violent book of the Bible (at least so far) and contains some of the craziest things I’ve ever read. It is a page turner, but it is disturbing. Continue Reading…

Guide to The Book of Joshua

February 23, 2012 in The Whole Story with 1 Comment

I’m currently reading through the entire Bible so I can better understand the Whole Story. After I finish each book, I’ll post about it so we can all better understand the Big Picture, important moments, the primary theme of the book, and how it points to Christ. 

Jordan River

The Big Picture:

Joshua is really broken into two halves. The first describes the Israelites entry into the Promised Land (after the Exodus and 40 years in the desert) and the battles they fought in order to receive their inheritance.

Continue Reading…

Hey, Where am I?

February 15, 2012 in Good Stuff with 0 Comments

So last semester I posted three times a week, every week. This semester, not so much.

You may not have even noticed, but if you have, you deserve an explanation. 2 major things have thrown me off.

1) Getting hacked kind of destroyed my spirits. I know it shouldn’t keep me down, but when you are in a rythm and something blows it out of the water it can be hard to drag the ship back into the sea.

2) I’m working on another extremely awesome project with a friend. It will launch in early March, so start getting excited. You’ll be one of the first to know about it, and I think it could really have a great impact.

That being said, I do still plan on posting here. I’m just trying to figure out what and how often with these other things going on.

Thanks for your readership, and have an incredible President’s day weekend!

3 Questions

February 1, 2012 in Cultural Connection with 0 Comments

I’m in the midst of a ton of training. This past weekend, I finished a seminary class. All this week, I am in a conference hosted by 3DM about Multiplying Missional Leaders. Last night, I started another seminary class. 24 hours of class in 4 days (with 12 more to go by tomorrow)!

From these, I have 3 questions that are important for creating common language. If we don’t have common language, we can’t communicate well. This is obvious with English and Bangladesh or Cantonese, but we can actually have uncommon language within English itself.

That being said…

1) What all is involved in discipleship?

2) What do you think is the purpose of preaching?

3) What does the word “missional” mean to you?

If you’ve got answers (which you do) I would love to hear them in the comments!

How to Make Sure You Aren’t the Online Jerk No One Likes

January 30, 2012 in Favorite Posts, Practical Theology with 4 Comments

There is a growing problem on the Internet. People are jerks. And the worst part?

Many of these people are Christians.

I suppose we think we can be jerks since no one sees us face to face, nor can they punch us in the face. But if you have been to youtube, read comments on some blogs, or seen what people say on facebook, you’ve seen these jerks in action. You might even be one of those jerks (and not even realize it!)

Computer Workstation Detail (iMac 27")

Somehow, we’ve begun to believe that the best way to cause positive change is by being extremely negative.  This is bogus. But fear not, here are a few ways to make sure you don’t become the online jerk no one likes.

Continue Reading…

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