Category Archives: Theology

Living Backwards: 1 Peter and the Believer’s Hope

Posted on January 23, 2025 by salooper57

Do you see what was happening? The future was altering my present. Rather than living out of past hurts and losses, I was choosing to live into my future. You could say I was living backwards. That’s a skill that every believer needs to master. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Sermons, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Decisions, Decisions (The Role of Choice in Spiritual Formation)

Posted on January 18, 2025 by salooper57

There is no spiritual growth apart from choice. That’s the way God designed it. He has endowed us with astonishing dignity: our decisions mean something; they make a real difference. As does our failure to decide. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Big Picture (John 1:1-14)

Posted on January 14, 2025 by salooper57

When he speaks, suns blaze and planets twirl, and oceans swarm with creatures; dinosaurs romp, birds sing, and dogs howl at the moon. When he speaks, people think and laugh and love. My word, your word, is a poor, thin, anemic thing. His Word is robust and teems with life. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Christmas, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Star Trek: The Voyage of the Magi Caravan

Posted on January 6, 2025 by salooper57

When God spoke about his Son to these magi from the east, he did it in a way that they could understand. He used the language of astral ascensions and declinations. God knows how to communicate; he speaks to people in their own language. He comes to us where we are, in ways we can understand. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The World Is Too Much in Us

Posted on January 4, 2025 by salooper57

How can we hear God speak in “a still, small voice” when our ears are being assaulted by the washing machine, the baby’s cries, and the incessant dinging of text alerts? Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hebrews 10:5-10 (Fourth Sunday in Advent)

Posted on January 3, 2025 by salooper57

But the Son of God did not undergo incarnation – bilaminar disc formation, cell mass differentiation, organogenesis, and nine month’s internment in a womb – to make people religious. Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Bible, Christmas, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hope! I Need Somebody (Hope! Not Just Anybody)

Posted on December 28, 2024 by salooper57

I looked at him in wonder. Here was a man from whom everything had been taken. His former life was gone. His world was a bed. His body was a prison. And the last two months had been the best two months of his life? Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Faith, Spiritual life, Theology | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Visited Planet

Posted on December 21, 2024 by salooper57

If we were to make a list of the things from which we need to be saved, sin would probably not be at the top. If it made the list at all, it would come somewhere after hair loss and high cholesterol. Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Bible, Peace with God, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Knew Who (No, it’s not a Dr. Seuss Story)

Posted on December 19, 2024 by salooper57

But when you don’t know Who, Why can ground you into dust. Why, God, did you allow this to happen to me? Why did you let my wife suffer this illness? Why let the business I work for close down? Why make me the way you did? Why? Why? Why? Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Bible, Christmas, Encouragement, Faith, Sermons, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Case in Point: Christmas and the Competence of God

Posted on December 14, 2024 by salooper57

If God were to write a resume, what kinds of things might he include on it? One thing is for certain: it would not be like any other resume ever written. Who else has worked as a universe creator, galaxy-spinner, nuclear engineer, quantum mechanic, genetics specialist, wind-maker, earth-shaker, sky-walker, life-giver? Continue reading →

Posted in Advent, Bible, Christmas, Encouragement, Faith, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments