Category Archives: Christianity

The Continuing Presence of Jesus (Wide Angle: Acts 1)

Posted on March 31, 2022 by salooper57

How must they have felt as they walked back to the city? What did they talk about? There was something final about Jesus’s departure. They probably understood that they had entered a new phase of life, but how were they to live it? “Witnesses to the ends of the earth”—how were they to do that? What would it look like?

As they walked back to their accommodations in Jerusalem, they had no clue about how to answer those questions. The future was a blank. They didn’t know what their lives were going to look like. All they had was Jesus’ instruction. Continue reading →

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Resistance Is Not Futile: How to Resist the Devil (1 Peter 5:5-11)

Posted on March 28, 2022 by salooper57

Both Saints James and Peter tell us to resist the devil. How does one do that? 1 Peter 5:5-11 gives us a quick-start guide. This sermon is for those who have joined the Resistance.

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Soul Work: It’s an Inside Job

Posted on March 26, 2022 by salooper57

Once, when all my tinkering failed to restore the boiler to working order, we hired a repairman. I took him to the boiler room, showed him the control module, and waited around to learn what I could. He examined the controls for a short time, then turned to me and said: “Don’t ever touch that again.” Later, when I was coiling his extension cord for him, he took it away from me and did it himself. The look on his face said everything: “You’re an idiot.” Continue reading →

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The Ascension: A Post-Resurrection Disappearance

Posted on March 16, 2022 by salooper57

Reading time: 4-5 minutes. (This Wide Angle look comes from Acts 1. Verses not otherwise identified by book and chapter are taken from there.) When Jesus was crucified, and his followers had despaired.  When he was raised, they were astounded.  … Continue reading →

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A Virtual Fingerprint for Identifying Christians

Posted on March 12, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.) I worked for the Ford Motor Company during my college years. One afternoon, I climbed the steps to the paint department, walked through the door into the smoldering heat, and was almost immediately met by another … Continue reading →

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Is Prophecy Being Fulfilled Before Our Eyes?

Posted on March 5, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.) The famous televangelist Pat Robertson came out of retirement this week to warn that the end times are upon us. According to Robertson, Vladimir Putin’s real intention in going into Ukraine is to secure a base … Continue reading →

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The Resurrection: “He Is Going Ahead of You” (Wide Angle)

Posted on March 2, 2022 by salooper57

(Reading time: 3-4 minutes.) We’ve been looking at the resurrection of Jesus over the past few weeks and it is now I time to put on our wide-angle lenses. Survey the big picture. Eve’s son would crush the serpent’s head … Continue reading →

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Eveready (A sermon from 1 Peter 3:14-4:6)

Posted on February 28, 2022 by salooper57

What does it look like to be ready for Christ? How do we get ready? Peter shares 3 areas in which Jesus’s followers need to be prepared.

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Sinai (Bible Theology Class)

Posted on February 13, 2022 by salooper57

What was Sinai and the giving of the law all about? Was it just rules that people must follow, can’t follow, and set people up to fail? Or is the law more like covenant promises – like marriage vows? How … Continue reading →

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Example, Savior, Shepherd: 1 Peter 2:21-25

Posted on February 7, 2022 by salooper57

e that I discovered that not all Christians think alike. The larger church is divided into smaller camps. At college, I began to learn more about these camps. There were of course the Catholics. From the snatches I heard said about Catholics, I concluded that few (if any) were really Christians at all. There were the liberals, who were only humanists (that was the derision de jour at the time) in Chrisitan’s clothing. And then there was “us,” the real Christians.

But even among us, there were camps. There were the Calvinists (who weren’t any fun at all), the fundamentalists (who didn’t want anyone to have any fun at all), and the Pentecostals (who were having all the fun, speaking in tongues and getting slain in the Spirit).

Somehow, I learned these things without ever talking to a Catholic, a liberal, or a Pentecostal. In the years since, I’ve spoken to all these folks and many at length. I’ve learned that talking about people reinforces stereotypes while talking to people tears them down. Continue reading →

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