Gospel or Justice, Which?

Some evangelicals talk as though personal evangelism and public justice are contradictory concerns, or, at least, that one is part of the mission of the church and the other isn't. I think otherwise.

The Message of the Cross

Hanging inside the Manchester City Art Gallery is the painting by Holman Hunt titled The Shadow of Death. The painting depicts the inside of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. Stripped to the waist, Jesus stands by a wooden trestle on which He has put down His saw. He lifts His eyes toward heaven, and the look on His face is one of pain, ecstasy or both. He stretches, raising both arms above His head. As He does so, the evening sunlight streaming through the open door casts a dark shadow in the form of a cross on the wall behind Him, where His tool rack looks like a horizontal bar on which His hands have been crucified. The tools remind us of the fateful hammer and nails.

Learning the Seasons of the Soul

Time is important to us. When you were in school, you spent a lot of time trying to learn how to tell time. Now, a lot of you are at a disadvantage because you've grown up in the digital age and clocks tell you what time it is. Your watch will beep; a digital voice will call out the hour. You don't have to tell time. The time tells you.

Theological Thoughts from a Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms are threatening, but the theology surrounding them can be thrilling! The term theological refers to something that is of or pertaining to the field of theology. Theology is the study of the nature of God and true religion. This word comes from a combination of two words, theo meaning "God" and logy meaning "study."

Gregory of Nazianzus

Gregory was one of the famous Cappadocian theologians, family friend of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and their sister, Macrina. Gregory served as Bishop of Constantinople from A.D. 379 to 381, and presided over the Council of Constantinople in the year A.D. 381 (the year this sermon was preached), which re-affirmed the Creed of Nicaea, as well as expanding it to clarify the church's doctrine of the deity of the Holy Spirit, affirming the Spirit as fully God, who receives worship together with the Father and the Son.