THE EIGHTH DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. YOUR FEEDBACK ON PERSPECTIVE The gracEmail for July 5 titled "Perspective" touched on the influence of Christianity in America. Not surprisingly, it generated even more feedback than usual. Following is a sample of your comments: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRANK COATS -- Beautifully said, … [Read more...]
PERSPECTIVE
THE FIFTH DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. In London, a historical marker identifies the longtime residence of Benedict Arnold, a name we Americans associate with perfidy and betrayal. But the U.K. takes a different look at the same circunstances and reaches its own conclusion. There, the historic marker reminds us, Benedict Arnold is remembered as a "British patriot." What we see has much to do with where we stand--people standing anywhere around the globe point away from the earth and perceive it as "up." This weekend in the USA, on a holiday associated … [Read more...]
Family Notes 01/07/2015
THE FIRST DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. GRAND ADVENTURE TRUMPS NOT-SO-FRIENDLY SKIES Two Sundays ago, wife Sara Faye and I were scheduled to depart Houston at 7:15 a.m. for Chicago, change planes at O'Hare for a short hop northeast over to Traverse City, Michigan, then drive 30-45 minutes to our destination, Northport Bay Retreat. There were thirty-seven of us, representing four generations of Fudges from California, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, who would spend a week together at what must be one of the most beautiful settings anywhere. Sara … [Read more...]
MESSIAH
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. Under the provisions of the Mosaic Code, even a man like Caiaphas could serve as high priest in Israel. And because Israel's covenant-keeping God had created the priestly office and confirmed Caiaphas for service within it, Jesus treated both man and office with great respect. Yet Jesus knew full well that even then powerful enemies symbolized by Caiaphas were plotting Jesus' murder--and would bring it to pass within a matter of hours. The irony is apparent. Jesus is God's "Messiah," the "anointed one" or … [Read more...]
Family Notes 17/06/2015
THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. NOT DIET BUT RENEWED MIND When you first meet gracEmail subscriber and marathon runner Eddie Robbins, you could not guess that in 1999 this Christian brother from the Greater Atlanta area weighed one-third of a thousand pounds, that he shed one-third of them during the next twelve months, then ran a marathon to celebrate his accomplishment. Eddie is an excellent story-teller and he tells his story in his book, All My Strength: My Journey from 333 to the Chicago Marathon. What is the secret to his weight loss? … [Read more...]
Church Leadership in the New Testament
You can watch the power point below or download it here: Church Leadership in the New Testament (right click and "save link as") http://www.slideshare.net/EdwardFudge/virginia-leadership-series … [Read more...]
SON OF MAN–ALREADY AND NOT YET
THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN Matthew in particular includes sayings of Jesus that affirm a future role for the Son of man as judge, a role based on a vision in Daniel 7 (Matt. 10:23; 13:41; 24:27-30, 37, 39, 44:16:27-28; 19:28). This end-of-the-world function remains a future event for the most part, but arguably it has broken into ongoing history already at least once--when Jesus came via the Roman armies and executed judgment on faithless Jerusalem and the religio-political establishment of which Caiaphas was both creator and … [Read more...]
Family Notes 10/06/2015
THE TENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. A PLACE IN HISTORY Finding their Voices: Sermons by Women in the Churches of Christ, edited by D'Esta Love (ACU Press, 2015), 254 pages. This new book not only relates history, it also makes history, preserving sermons of 29 women from Churches of Christ, a new notion during the past 100+ years among this fellowship, although its earliest days saw more than one woman evangelist on the American frontier. The editor was Pepperdine University's first chaplain, and I applaud Pepperdine for leading the way in that … [Read more...]
CAIAPHAS ON TRIAL
THE SEVENTH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN Caiaphas is the high priest, corrupt to be sure, but he wears the title and the sacred vestments nonetheless. As such, he is the one to whom Jesus is taken by the mob in hopes of obtaining a death sentence for blasphemy. Caiaphas presses Jesus to admit that he is either Messiah or Son of God. In the mind of the conniving religious figurehead, either claim will make Jesus culpable for a capital offense: the first for treason against the Romans, the second for blasphemy among the Jews (Matt. 26:63-64). This brief … [Read more...]
Family Notes 03/06/2015
THE THIRD DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. CONGRATS RON CURTIS Congratulations to gracEmail subscriber Ron Curtis, whose book manuscript on how to have an almost-perfect marriage won FIRST PLACE in the Readers Choice Awards at the recent Ridgecrest Christian Writers Conference. I grew up with Ron (then Ronnie, who became an engineer as an adult) and he was brilliant as a kid. The kind of person who would not surprise you if he decided to build a radio, but write a book -- never. Especially about psychology and relationships. But God touched his heart and mind … [Read more...]
