Christmas, Theology, Advent, Church, Hospitality
John Beeson
The Faithfulness of God of the Manger

Recently we had someone over and as the night came to a close Angel warmly offered, “Let’s do this again soon!” I wilted as I processed just how many things were on our calendar in the coming month. Just like Angel did, I wanted to be with them again and soon, but her invitation made me flinch.

 

My wife Angel and I are very different people. Angel brings light and life everywhere. People are drawn to her, and she is drawn to people. One of the many things I love about Angel is how she gets caught up in a moment with people. In that space, it’s not unusual that she shares hopes with those we are with of spending more time together. And she means it: there is no doubt of her genuineness.

The Faithfulness of God of the Manger
Advent, Christmas, Theology
John Beeson
A Humble God?

“I don’t compare myself with anybody, but nobody is better.” Michael Jordan

“They say the sky’s the limit, but I think my potential is beyond it.” Jay-Z

“I won’t be happy until I’m as famous as God” Madonna

“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.” Freddie Mercury

“We’re more popular than Jesus now.” John Lennon

We tend to expect that greatest among us are also some of the most arrogant. And why wouldn’t they be? For many who make it to the top of their field, we can see how that arrogance can be a driving force for their greatness.

A Humble God?
Christmas, Forgiveness, Theology
John Beeson
The Just and the Justifier

God became flesh.

Let that sink in. Christianity asserts that God—sovereign, immutable, omnipotent, other—the eternal God who has no beginning and end—became a human being.

 Because many of us have had exposure to Christianity from our early years, it is easy to miss how massive the theological implications of the incarnation are. The incarnation lays the groundwork for a God who chooses to participate in his creation. The incarnation denies the existence of an abstract and distant God, unmuddied by his handiwork.

The Just and the Justifier
Advent, Christmas, Theology
John Beeson
The Theology of the Manger

“God did not, as the Bible says, create man in his own image; on the contrary, man created God in his own image.” Ludwig Feuerbach dropped this theological bombshell three years before Friedrich Nietzsche’s birth. Feuerbach, a name forgotten by most, but who influenced Nietzsche, wrote these words in his book, The Essence of Christianity (1841). He argued that human beings project their own attributes and desires onto an imagined deity, creating God in their own image. This for Feuerbach, is the essence of Christianity (and indeed all religions), the deification of our human ideals. “What man wishes to be, he makes his God… God is the outward projection of a man’s inward nature.”

The Theology of the Manger
Death, Gratitude, Prayer, Suffering
John Beeson
Go To a Funeral

We Westerners avoid death.

 

When was the last time you walked through a cemetery? When was the last funeral you went to? Our churches no longer have cemeteries, those who are older head to retirement communities and then to head to long-term care or assisted care facilities. The number of funerals held in churches has diminished. Death has become professionalized, antisepticised, and remote.

Go To a Funeral

Russ Meek

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Nothing Bitter, Only Sweet: Brittany Lee Allen considers whether we will miss the good things of earth in heaven. “Will we look back longingly at our life before eternity? …The truth is, we will leave behind treasured gifts when we enter heaven, but our minds can’t begin to imagine the treasure it will be to be with Jesus.”

  2. A Giant Space Rock and Sodom: Archaeological evidence now confirms the biblical account of Sodom. “As the inhabitants of an ancient Middle Eastern city now called Tall el-Hammam went about their daily business one day about 3,600 years ago, they had no idea an unseen icy space rock was speeding toward them at about 38,000 mph (61,000 kph).”

  3. ‘One Anothers’ I Can’t Find in the New Testament: Ray Ortlund explains why we can’t find the following “one anothers” in the New Testament: “sanctify one another, humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, sacrifice one another, shame one another, marginalize one another, exclude one another, judge one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins...”

  4. Jephthah and the Dangers of Deficient Theology: Russ Meek begins his insightful post on a passage I just preached on with this, “The book of Judges is a minefield for even the most experienced Bible readers. Idolatry, civil war, incest, and rape—and that’s just God’s people. Jephthah’s story in Judges 11–12 is particularly disturbing.”

  5. TobyMac Talks About Loss: It’s worth listening to what TobyMac says about navigating grief after the death of his son.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

1. The Day My Foster Son Leaned into Me: Russ Meek shares the moment his three-year-old foster son began to trust him. He shares, "Andrew won’t remember this moment, and God willing his body will forget the scarring on his heart. But for these past three years he has carried the trauma. Tense, unwilling to relax even for a moment, and constantly on high alert, he’s carried in his body the wounds of abandonment, of exposure to places and things no child should see, and of the absence of a person to help him navigate this world wrought with danger and the unknown."

2. 5 COVID-19 Problems that Have Gotten Worse for Pastors: Aaron Earls begins with this stat about disunity, “In April, 8% of pastors said they were facing disagreement and complaints within their congregation. By July, that number had jumped to 27%.” The rest of the stats are just as discouraging.

3. Pastor, Don't Imply That Church is Optional: Trevin Wax with wise counsel for pastors. He shares, "When I was a student in Romania, American evangelists would come and preach, and they’d sometimes say things like, “I’m calling you to trust in Jesus, not to become part of the church.” The translators would always change that last part."

4. 7 Lies the Church Believes About Singleness: One of the most thoughtful writers on this subject, Sam Allberry offers his wisdom on the subject. His third misconception is that "Singleness means no intimacy." He explains, "Our culture (and often the church) has so conflated sex and intimacy that we find it hard to conceive of any forms of intimacy that are not ultimately about sex."

5. Explore the Alps: Stop what you're doing and immerse yourself in three minutes of God's glory.

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