*Given at Midtown Christian Community, Jan. 21, 2006* Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and […]

In Creator Spirit, Steve Guthrie contrasts Platonic and biblical metaphors that express the spiritual journey.  “The Platonic vision . . . uses the spatial metaphor of ‘ascent’.” The language of ascent, of course, suggests that the realm of Spirit/spirit is above and other than the realm in which we reside.  The realm of true Being, […]

In Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human, Steve Guthrie brilliantly contrasts Luke’s portrayal with a Platonic vision of Jesus’ ministry.  I just love this: As bearer of the Spirit, Jesus is not (in Platonic fashion) raised up out of this world but rather immersed in it.  It is the Spirit […]

For many Christian people, spirituality is set against our humanity.  In order to become more spiritual, we must lose ourselves, our desires, our identities, and become more like some abstract idealized vision of what God wants for us and from us. This is not at all a biblical vision of spirituality.  God’s original intention for […]

U2’s “Grace” is a lovely meditation on the transformational dynamics of resurrection.  It’s the final song on the album All That You Can’t Leave Behind and forms an inclusio with the opening track, “Beautiful Day.”  “Grace” gathers, restates, and explains the call in “Beautiful Day” to inhabit joyfully God’s broken but still beautiful creation. My kids don’t […]

My family has begun the search for a church.  We had the most wonderful church experience for the last six and a half years, but we’re now in a new city and are looking for a new fellowship.  We’ve visited a few places and have largely enjoyed ourselves.  Our expectations aren’t very unrealistic, I don’t […]

*Given at Midtown Christian Community, Feb. 18, 2006* O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before […]

In his Romans commentary, Karl Barth develops an image to speak of the relationships between the Law and the Gospel, Jews and gentiles.  It relates very well to Paul’s use of Habakkuk and the necessity of faithful gospel improvisation among God’s people.  The image also nicely sums up the epochal shift in the death and resurrection […]

In Romans 1:16-17, Paul says the following: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who is faithful, to the Jew first and also to the Greek; for the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith(fulness) unto faith(fulness) (ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν), […]

Why does Paul make this claim in Romans 1:16?  And what does he mean by it?  And why does he say this in this letter to this audience? Many interpreters consider Romans 1:16-17 as Paul’s thesis or thematic statement for the entire letter.  I’m not convinced that this is the case.  I agree with Daniel […]