It can be hard to go from a text to a sermon. The line from past to present can be hard work. But at the root, one must hear clearly what was said. Dave Black looks at a text.
Author: henry
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Preparing to Teach Romans Tonight: Quote
From Meditations on the Letters of Paul, by Herold Weiss:
Jesus’ faith in God is what gives life to sinners. This point is made in another famous Pauline confession: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). This text says it best, but again attention must be paid to the original Greek, which reads: “but what I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith, that of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” As a Christian Paul lives in two locations: “in the flesh” and “in the faith;” that is, Paul is crucified with Christ, and as a consequence the faith of the Son of God is active in Paul. Christians live “in Christ,” as Paul does not tire to say. Paul does not have faith in Jesus. He has the faith of Jesus because he is “found in him.” Jesus had faith in the effective power of God; likewise, Paul has the faith of Jesus in the power of God to raise the dead. In passing, it is also to be noted that in this very personal confession Paul gives specific credit to Christ saying that the Son of God “loved me and gave himself for me.” It is not just that God loved the sinners, sent forth His Son, and pours out the Spirit on human hearts. It is also the case that the Son loves humanity and gave himself for all humans. (pp. 67-68)
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Free Press
The nature of a free press is not that it is always right, always responsible, or required to print what any person or group wants, but that it is free. It can challenge authority and it can be challenged.
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From My Reading: Isaiah 10:1-4a
Woe to the enacters of unjust enactments,
to the writers of harmful laws,
who separate the poor from judgment,
so they can rob my needy people of right,
so widows can become your loot,
and orphans your plunder!What will you do on the day of accounting,
when calamity comes from afar?
Where will you flee for rescue,
where will you stash your wealth,
lest you cower among the prisoners,
or fall among the corpses of the slain?— Isaiah 10:1-4a (My own translation with slight poetic paraphrasing.)
(Featured image credit: Openclipart.org.)
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You Are a Politician
If I get an ad in the mail from your campaign asking me to vote for you, you are a politician. I don’t mind that you are a politician. I consider that a potentially honorable profession, but I object when you lie about it.
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Connecting the Unhooked to the Word
Dave has some interesting points here. Love for one another doesn’t disconnect us from the “other.” A genuine church might attract genuine people.
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An Observation: Accuracy of Perception
An observation: Whether considering theology or politics, almost none of my liberal acquaintances resemble the image of them as portrayed by my conservative acquaintances, and almost none of my conservative acquaintances resemble the image of them portrayed by my liberal acquaintances. Whose vision requires correction?
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Reading, Studying, Discussing, Teaching, and Proclaiming but not Practicing
I was struck by Dave Black’s note on Hebrews 4:14-16 from Wednesday on his blog. I extracted it to jesusparadigm.com, as Dave’s blog is a journal that doesn’t offer links to individual posts. (I have his permission.)
I highly recommend his post. It struck me because Hebrews is such a central part of my reading and study. There are those who claim I can’t get through an hour of study, no matter what the subject, without referring to the book of Hebrews. Within Hebrews, 4:14-16 has to be one of my most quoted passages in the book.
Dave talks about not going to our great High Priest first. That really struck me, because I think I don’t either. The other day I woke up in a cold sweat because I had dreamed about something critical going wrong. Now I’m working through quite a number of things that can justify worry, in a normal sense. I was telling Jody about my “awakening” and she just said, “Next time you wake up in a cold sweat, just remind yourself that Jesus has it all under control.” Jesus says, “Can anxious thought add a single day to your life?” (Matthew 6:27 REB).
I don’t intend to do less. But I’d also like to worry less. None of the problems I’m facing have been alleviated by my worry. Not one.
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Biblical Studies Carnival 149 (June 2018)
Biblical Studies Carnival 149 (June 2018) has been posted at Reading Acts, and I was somewhat shocked to find a link to my own blog when looking through for nifty scholarly articles on topics of interest. Somehow my
rantpost about church buildings got a link. Yay!
