Be Not Ashamed
Nashville is a tricky city for us Christians. On one hand, we’re Southern enough that the church is still expected and Christianity is not completely unknown. On the other hand, we’re metropolitan enough that the social norms and ideas of the secular world are fully engrained and lived in the society around us. In Nashville it’s not necessarily completely odd that you go to church on Sunday or have a “spiritual” life, but it is very clear that proclaiming Jesus as “The Way” and expressing traditional Christian ethics out loud in mixed company is not welcome. Read more...
Law, Gospel, and the Beatitudes
I love the lectionary. Not specifically a particular lectionary. (I’m not going to get into the debates of the one-year traditional lectionary versus the three-year cycle of the 20th century, etc.). But, I love the thematic presentation of Old and New Testament. Where else other than the lectionary are you going to find Jeremiah, David, and Jesus in conversation with each other? Where else can we so clearly see the same spirit and Word at work in Jeremiah and David? Read more...
