The overriding theme of our journey has been exploring what it means to be "baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Having dealt (however superficially) with the ontological aspects of that "name", we now focus on the narrative aspects. In particular, we will focus on the arc o ...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:46:01 +0000

When God created the world, He gave us as humans dominion over all the plants and animals. But it was not an unconditional grant: rather, we have a responsibility to take His already "very good" creation to the next level, by filling the earth with His image. And if we fail in that responsibility, ...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:43:26 +0000

Our series so far -- indeed, the first half of human history -- is but a prelude to the coming of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have the word of God made flesh, the perfect revelation of God's character, a tangible representative of the Trinity, and a reminder of what we were created to be. Yet even m ...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:04:13 +0000

This week we move from the Father and the Son to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. This also continues our theme of God restoring His Image by saving us from our rebellion. And as usual, there is a heavy price to be paid...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:33:21 +0000

In Which We Are Set Apart For Obedience And Suffering, To Become Holy This week we round out our discussion on salvation and conviction by focusing on sanctification and holiness, words that include both being “set apart” and “made righteous.” The overall idea is forming God& ...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:18:49 +0000

In Which We Become the Church, As We Grow Into Christ Our Head Via His Gifts Continuing the theme of Sanctification, we explore how we are discipled into the name of Christ through His body — the Father’s principle vehicle for forming His Kingdom, by His Spirit. Specifically, we see how ...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:26:24 +0000

In Which Christ Comes Back to Judge and Remake the Earth, and We Receive Our Reward The End. Christ’s Return is the completion of our theology. Faith will be made sight, all nations will bow before Him, and we will dwell in the fulness of the Father’s eternal presence as His kingdom come ...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:09:46 +0000

Thanks to Andrew and others for their feedback on rebranding the LEAD class. My current best thinking is: Title: Growing Church Leaders Subtitle: Foundational Bible Studies for the Next Generation Volumes: Think Biblically Live Wisely Serve Faithfully I like the idea that we are encouraging exi ...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:06:20 +0000

While exploring publication options, one key piece of advice that jumped out at me was to choose an appropriate title, since that influences keywords, URLs, and everything else that people will use to find a book. I’ve never been entirely happy with “Leadership Enrichment and Development ...

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:21:20 +0000

Like most people, Christian or not, my wife and I have been deeply impacted by the tragedy that is unfolding in Haiti. Not many years ago a tragedy of a different sort happened on the doorstep of my nation. The boxing day tsunami brought untold suffering to so many with it's most redeeming feature b ...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:32:34 GMT

On November 13th and 14th, Sandhya I attended the Retreat portion of the Cleansing Streams Seminar. Since there isn’t a lot of information about this online, I thought I should document our experience. Plus, God did some significant things in my life that I want to memorialize… Cleansin ...

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:40:32 +0000

By examination of the historical views of prayer and prayerfulness we discover a dynamic intimacy with the heart of God through expressions and thoughts that are lost to us or diluted by time. As we have examined the historical views of prayer and prayerfulness we have seen a dynamic intimacy deve ...

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:53:51 GMT

Douglas Steere is a well regarded academic and scholar. Called a brilliant thinker by some he studied at both Harvard and Oxford and in his early life was a Rhodes scholar. Steere was a Quaker who skilfully authored many devotional books and is part of a small circle of people who have managed to co ...

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:50:52 GMT

Born in Montargis, France, Guyon married an invalid man aged over twice her then 15 years. Unhappy in this marriage, Guyon looked for happiness within a devotional life. After living in a convent for a year she was imprisoned for the next 25 because of her religious beliefs. During this time she wro ...

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:49:21 GMT

Born in Spain, John became a Carmelite monk in 1564. He studied philosophy and theology in one of Europe’s leading universities and was ordained in 1567. That same year his leadership and spirituality was recognised and John was put in charge of the order. During this time he was named "John of the ...

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:46:24 GMT

Martin Luther is well known as the originator of the Protestant Reformation. Born into a humble family life Luther sought to better himself by pursuing the scholarly life. It was at the age of 20 that Luther began to suffer a deep anxiety about the surety of his salvation, which drove him to join an ...

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:27:18 GMT

Julian is one of the most popular English mystics and wrote the book Revelations of Divine Love. Living as a Benedictine nun beside the St. Julian Church (from which she most likely derived her name) her theological outlook is based on a series of mystical experiences. As you may well expect from ...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:18:36 GMT

Prayer is perhaps the most intimate of daily Christian spiritual practice. In prayer we have the opportunity to consciously open ourselves up to our creator, to invite His interaction within our lives and to share the most private regions of our heart. While prayer can be private, it can also b ...

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:15:12 GMT

Are Christians wrong in their thinking about heaven? Is it all clouds, singing and endless reminiscing? Bishop N.T. Wright doesn't seem to think so and I have to strongly agree. The general Christian perception of heaven seems to be shaped by culture and not Scripture. Wright quotes a children's b ...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:47:49 GMT

If you have ever been to a Christian rally of some description, you will have no doubt heard the following question:     What if you died tonight, would you be ready? Would you go to heaven or hell?      In retail circles this is known as the hard sell. It is a pointed ...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:18:41 GMT