Category Archives: Bible

Covenant Flyover

Posted on October 8, 2025 by salooper57

God kicked them out of “The Perfect Earth” program and exiled them from the Garden training center, but – and this is important – he did not give up on the plan. He still intends to have a perfect world stewarded by perfect people, ruling in his name with wisdom and love. Continue reading →

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Now You See Me

Posted on October 5, 2025 by salooper57

You see, it is not that Jesus emptied himself even though he was in very nature God. He emptied himself because he was in very nature God. This is what God is like. This is what he has always been like. Continue reading →

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Is the Church Even Necessary?

Posted on October 4, 2025 by salooper57

A church that is united in love will dislodge the devil, conduct itself with assurance, convince doubters, know Christ by experience, and change the world. Continue reading →

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Can Erika Kirk Really Forgive Charlie’s Killer?

Posted on September 27, 2025 by salooper57

Forgiveness never happens by accident. It is always a choice—usually a choice that goes against the grain of our feelings. If we put off forgiveness until we feel like it, we will never forgive. We must make a choice to forgive, and we must act on it. Continue reading →

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Divided We Fall: Paul, Romans, and a Fractured Faith

Posted on September 20, 2025 by salooper57

Do we feel about the divisions in today’s church (between black and white, old and young, female and male, left and right) the way Paul would, or do we regard division as something we’ll just have to live with? Continue reading →

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The Family Business: A Sermon from John 5

Posted on September 18, 2025 by salooper57

When bad things happen in our lives, we might think about God the way my parents thought about the police: Why isn’t he doing something? Someday, we’ll discover that he was. But, unlike the police, he wanted us to join him in his work. Continue reading →

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Going Out of Business: St. Paul and “the Body of Sin”

Posted on September 13, 2025 by salooper57

The new owner has given each of us the responsibility of closing down the business of sin that has been operating in our bodies. Continue reading →

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Pulling Out: Separationist Movements and the Bible

Posted on September 6, 2025 by salooper57

Wearing unfashionable clothing (without a smartphone in any pocket) might readily distinguish us in other people’s eyes, but maybe the point is not to distinguish ourselves in others people’s eyes. Continue reading →

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The Two-Stages of Human Gestation

Posted on August 30, 2025 by salooper57

We say that our friend has died and, from our perspective, we are right. But that kind of language belongs on this side of death, not the other. The other side, I suspect, sounds more like a maternity ward: “She’s here!” or “She has arrived!” Continue reading →

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Baptism: Is it Really Necessary?

Posted on August 23, 2025 by salooper57

Both the emu and the kangaroo can only move forward, not back. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it tries to go backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving backwards by its large tail.
People who are baptized have chosen the emu and the kangaroo for their coat of arms. Continue reading →

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