One In Jesus

(Gal 4:18-19 ESV)  ¹⁸ It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,  ¹⁹ my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

Plainly, Paul sees the goal of the Christian walk as the formation of Christ within the individual Christians (and in the congregation, as well). Continue reading →

UCC members: The materials these questions relate to will be emailed to you immediately after the September 30, 2012 class. Please reflect on the passages cited and try to answer the questions on your own.

Other readers: See the Creation 2.0 page to find the materials these questions relate to. Continue reading →

UCC members: The materials these questions relate to will be emailed to you immediately after the September 23, 2012 class. Please reflect on the passages cited and try to answer the questions on your own.

Other readers: See the Creation 2.0 page to find the materials these questions relate to. Continue reading →

Why was it said that David was a man after God’s own heart? What is it about David that so appealed to God that God not only gave him a kingdom but entered into a covenant with him that the Messiah would come from his lineage? What makes David so very special in God’s eyes?

Well, David was hardly sinless. It wasn’t David’s purity, and it wasn’t his holiness in the sense of moral perfection.

It was his heart. David had a heart of humble submission to God. Continue reading →

UCC members: The materials these questions relate to will be emailed to you immediately after the September 9, 2012 class. Please reflect on the passages cited and try to answer the questions on your own.

Other readers: See the Creation 2.0 page to find the materials these questions relate to.

Continue reading →

UCC members: The materials these questions relate to will be emailed to you immediately after the September 2, 2012 class. Please reflect on the passages cited and try to answer the questions on your own.

Other readers: See the Creation 2.0 page to find the materials these questions relate to.

Read Genesis 1 – 3. It’s familiar and won’t take long. Don’t ask modern questions: how old is the earth? Such questions didn’t concern Moses’ original readers, the Israelites. They’re good questions, even important questions, but not today’s questions. Continue reading →

(Psa 23:1-6 ESV) The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Continue reading →

Let’s consider a few more verses that teach us what it  means to be re-created in the image of Christ —

(1Pe 2:21-1 ESV)  ²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  ²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  ²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.  ²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.  Continue reading →

This is a new series. It’s based on several books. There’s not just one you could read. I’ll make some recommendations at the end.

The general idea is to investigate what insights we might gain about God and Christianity if we were to start our investigation with the Creation.

This going to be really, really unusual, because we’ll be delving into some approaches to Scripture that are unfamiliar although, I’m confident, very sound and true to God’s word. Continue reading →

God redeems us in Christ to be restored to the image of God. To be restored to God’s image we call theosis.

Fortunately, the scriptures don’t leave us to speculate on what it would look like to be in God’s image —

(Col 1:15 ESV) ¹⁵ [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Continue reading →