Author Archives: salooper57

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About salooper57

Husband, father, pastor, follower. I am a disciple of Jesus, learning how to do life from him. I read, write, walk, play a little guitar, enjoy my family.

If Only (John 11)

Posted on April 1, 2026 by salooper57

His mom said, “I’ll have to vacuum it up.” Phin asked, “How does it get up there?” His mom, thinking he was talking about the bug, said, “They fly.” Phin looked at her in amazement and said, “Vacuums fly?” Continue reading →

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Seven-Storied World: The Stories that Compose Literature

Posted on March 28, 2026 by salooper57

The English journalist Christopher Booker published “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories” in 2004. He argues – some would say unsuccessfully – that all the stories we know belong to one of seven plot types. Continue reading →

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Kingdom Come (Mark 1:14-15)

Posted on March 27, 2026 by salooper57

Into this turbulent setting stepped a man who was larger than life. He seemed to be eight hundred years out of his time. He wore strange clothes, ate a weird diet, lived an ascetic lifestyle, and thundered like one of the prophets of old. Continue reading →

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Is This How Christians Can Reach the World?

Posted on March 21, 2026 by salooper57

We want to keep our dignity in place and our options open—and dignity and options are not characteristic of slaves and servants. (Or so people think who have never been slaves and servants.) Continue reading →

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Put It Where It Belongs: Where the Incarnation Fits in God’s Big Story

Posted on March 18, 2026 by salooper57

They think that if the faith is true, they should see evidence for it everywhere – a thousand … astonishing healings and nature-defying answers to prayer. Those things certainly happen …, but they usually happen in clusters around significant actions (some might call them intrusions) of God in history. Continue reading →

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War in Iran: Déjà Vu All Over Again

Posted on March 14, 2026 by salooper57

…most Americans are completely unaware of the rich history of Christian thinking regarding what constitutes a just war. And that nearly guarantees that we will keep finding ourselves back in the same unhappy place. Continue reading →

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This Is Your Brain on Jingles

Posted on March 7, 2026 by salooper57

If we are spending more time with Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow than with Jesus and Paul, it won’t be long before our thinking is out of kilter. Continue reading →

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Don’t Give Up on God (2 Samuel 7)

Posted on March 4, 2026 by salooper57

God hardly ever does things the way we think he should. What kind of kingdom is ruled by a crucified King? Continue reading →

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All Things Are Yours: A Compelling Vision of the Christian Life

Posted on February 28, 2026 by salooper57

In Paul’s glorious vision of the Christian life, Jesus’s people have the power to force the world, life, death, things present, and things to come to serve their purpose. But Christians can only do this if they know their purpose and where they fit in the divine scheme of things. Continue reading →

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The God of Second Chances (Joshua 3-4)

Posted on February 25, 2026 by salooper57

When another chance – second chance or hundredth chance – will be helpful, it will be given. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of Second chances. Continue reading →

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