Sometime during our lives we all will likely experience a moment so transcendently beautiful that time seems to freeze and the world stands still. The trigger for such a moment can take a thousand forms: a piece of music or a work of art; great literature read aloud; the contemplation of pure math. More often it is the scent of honeysuckle, a perfect sunset, or the face of a child. Marital intimacy can become such a sacred pathway, as can at times a simple and truthful prayer. Celtic Christianity saw each such experience as a sign of God's grace--a "thin space" or "thin place," where opaque … [Read more...]
out of chaos new world emerges
With the Flood, order reverts to chaos and creation is undone. Outside the Ark beneath the silent primordial ocean, the earth again is formless and empty of breathing life. Soon will come a new creation--as was the first, wakened by breath or wind of God. Like the first creation, it emerges step-by-orderly-step out of the primordial Deep, following the general pattern of the Six Days of Genesis 1:3-31, to become the home of a new creation and a rescued humankind. Just as the spirit (or Spirit) of God originally hovered over the chaotic and oceanic Deep (Gen. 1:2), now a "wind" from God … [Read more...]
once in lifetime event
gracEmail® 'Rethinking Hell' conference a once in lifetime event Edward Fudge … [Read more...]
BAPTISM — A CLOSER LOOK COMING UNDER THE NAME OF JESUS
Surrendering to a new masterI. Baptism in Jesus' Name Means Surrendering to Jesus Based on Who He Is: the Prophesied Messianic Lord Whose Resurrection Presages Divine Salvation From Sin and the Arrival of the Last Days (Acts 2:14-38). A. The occasion: first gospel proclamation/conversion of Jews. B. The proclamation: Jesus (14-36). C. The response: conviction (37). D. The apostolic reply (38-39). 1. Repent (plural) and be baptized (singular) for forgiveness of sins (plural) and receive the Holy Spirit (plural). 2. "In the name of Jesus Christ" (epi- based upon … [Read more...]
BAPTISM — A CLOSER LOOK THE GOOD NEWS TO WHICH BAPTISM RESPONDS
I. The Gospel is Not "Good Do's" (Moralisms) or "Good Views" (Doctrinal Systems), but "Good News" (Evangel). Not History, Commands, Exhortations or Prophecy, but an Announcement. A. Isa. 43:10-13 - God declares, saves and proclaims. B. 2 Tim. 1:9 - God foretold, saved and called us. II. The Good News is the Announcement that God has Forgiven us and Made Us His Friends, and That He Will Finally Restore All That Has Gone Wrong in His Universe. A. Eph. 1:13 - It is the "good news" of our salvation! B. Eph. 1:10; Rom. 8 - God will sum up and redeem "all things." III. There are … [Read more...]
One mighty act that includes all
Did Jesus' work merely make it possible for sinners to enjoy at-one-ment with God if they follow through, correctly and precisely, so that they complete what Jesus only started? We find answers in the opening words of a single sentence: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor. 5:19). From the moment of the first human sin and even before, restoring right relationship between sinners and God was top priority on God's personal list of things to do. This job was too important to delegate it to any angel, much less to any mere mortal. God assigned this task to Jesus of … [Read more...]
GracEmail special
THE ASSIGNMENT The first rays of morning gradually illumined the volcanic mountains before me, and the cobblestone streets of Antigua glowed softly beneath my feet. It was August 2007, and I was in this picturesque Guatemalan village on professional retreat with my employer, the Lanier Law Firm of Houston, Texas. During this early morning walk, I was asking God for a new assignment -- something he would enable me to do to bless others and to bring him honor. the answer Within hours, I began to sense an answer. I was to encourage some of God's people by writing a new commentary on Hebrews. … [Read more...]
THE KINGDOM OF GOD – 3
Because Jesus personally embodies God's kingdom, New Testament writers do not mind saying that those who believe in Christ through the gospel even now participate to some extent in kingdom membership and blessings (Rom. 14:17; Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:9). Yet the church as institution is not the kingdom. A simplistic identification of the two always results in self-conceit and triumphalism by the church and disillusionment and unbelief by the world. The church must continue to pray for God's kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). We live in hope, awaiting entrance into the … [Read more...]
A man like no other
The Greek word used of Jesus and translated "only-begotten" in the King James Version of John 3:16 is monogenes. This means that as son of God, Jesus is unique or one of a kind. He is also unique as a man. And how? Not in his physical appearance, we will see in this gracEmail, nor because he died, or even because he died by crucifixion. On a few subsequent Sundays we will explore some ways that Jesus is entirely unique, truly one of a kind, indeed a man like no other. Jesus did not stand out from others based on physical appearance (Isaiah 53:2). If we had visited first-century Nazareth on … [Read more...]
JESUS: NEW MAN FOR A NEW WORLD
Mama Cass Elliott sang the song and her words echoed the good news Jesus himself had preached. "There's a New World Coming / And it's just around the bend / There's a new world coming / This one's coming to an end" (Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing). Jesus called it "the kingdom of heaven," the new dimension of reality in which God will restore everything, redeem our bodies and liberate creation itself. These things are absolutely certain and, equally as certain, not yet. Even martyrs seeking justice cry "How long, O Lord, how long?" and must wait a little longer. To follow after Jesus is to … [Read more...]
