Tag Archives: resurrection

Why Coming Near God Is Both Risky and Redemptive

People sometimes ask, “Why doesn’t God just show himself? Why doesn’t he come near?” In the Scripture, God promises to come near, but that coming near is always a kind of judgment. The presence of God is a spotlight, revealing … Continue reading

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20 Years Later: Peter and John Reminisce About Jesus’s Resurrection

Enjoy this skit that takes us back to that first Easter Sunday!

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What Was He Thinking? (Jesus on Death – John 11)

(Excerpt) Have you ever asked, “What was he thinking?” Or perhaps said, “I don’t know what I was thinking.” We ask these questions because something has been done that should not have been done, but the question is just as … Continue reading

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

(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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Wide Angle: The Resurrection (“Just as He Said”)

(Reading time: Approx. 4-5 minutes.) The men who pushed and manipulated the governor into delivering a death sentence on Jesus went back to the governor after the execution with an odd request. They asked that a guard (the word is … Continue reading

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Joseph of Arimethea: The Secret Disciple (Wide Angle)

It is difficult enough to move on after each of the earlier posts in this series, but it is even more difficult to move on after such an inadequate treatment of the crucifixion of Jesus. Saying that we have gazed … Continue reading

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What Does the Author of Hebrews Mean by “Made Perfect”?

I was reading Scot McKnight’s book, Embracing Grace, and was surprised to see how he correlates the author of Hebrews use of the term “made perfect” (τελειωθεὶς) with the resurrection. In Hebrews 5:8-9, we read that the Son “learned obedience … Continue reading

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Christian Hope: Does It Differ from Optimism?

He then told me something – and it was hard for him to talk, so I had to listen closely – that I have never forgotten. He told me that the last two months – since he had come over to Jesus’s side – had been the two best months of his life. 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 time of his life.

How was that possible? What had happened? Continue reading

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The Sorrows of the Past Will Hurt Us No More

In this 28-minute narrative sermon, we learn that Jesus’s people get confused, sad, broken, and hurt. In this world we have trouble – just as Jesus promised. But Christ enters our trouble and meets us there – and that changes … Continue reading

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Fountain of Life

Scot McKnight describes 1 Peter 1:3-9 as a “chain reaction” of blessing. Another way pf putting it is to say the fountain of life surges through the opening made by the resurrection of Jesus, flows over into every aspect of … Continue reading

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