Category Archives: Christian Year

We Too Have Ascended With Him – A Meditation for Ascension Day

Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated … Continue reading

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Is Jesus a Narcissist? Christ and Preeminence (Why Greek Matters Part 12)

…he is the head of the body, the church. He is  the beginning,  the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Col 1:18 ESV) What does this language of preeminence mean? In somewhat caricatured form, this … Continue reading

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Why Greek Matters (Part 9) – The Prodigal Son and the Resurrection of the Dead

Small details sometimes mean little – at other times they contribute significantly to the meaning of a passage. In the familiar story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, a verb occurs twice that often is translated  “get up” (NRSV, … Continue reading

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Something Strange is Happening…

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh … Continue reading

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Why Greek Matters (Part 1) – The Resurrection and the Joy of Jesus (Matthew 28:9)

Since I teach New Testament Greek, I am often asked why one should invest the time to learn a whole language just to study the Bible. It is commonly phrased as, “do actually need to learn that to understand the Bible?” This will be the beginning of a series of (hopefully short) posts which will look at specific texts and explain why its helpful, illuminating and/or exhilarating to know whats “going on under the hood.” Continue reading

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Out of Exile: When the Day of Pentecost Had Fully Come (Part 4)

As we continue to explore the meaning of Pentecost in light of the narrative of Old Testament history, today our journey brings us to Ezekiel 37. In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel is given a vision in which he sees … Continue reading

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God is with us: When the Day of Pentecost Had Fully Come (Part 3)

In my last post I described the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost as forging the Church as a New Humanity, reversing Babel’s curse of social and national disintegration. Today I would like to look at the coming of … Continue reading

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