Although we are universally created in the image of God and thus share a common identity as his beloved children, ever since the Tower of Babel human beings have been deeply divided by our differences. Down through the ages various groups and individuals have been demeaned, devalued, and oppressed because of their ethnic identity, cultural heritage, and the color of their skin. This is a great evil rooted in the sin that first separated Adam and Eve from their Creator and caused them to hide from him in shame. Racism in countless forms has continued to plague humanity ever since…
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
Mark 3:24-25
Jesus launched his public ministry by announcing the imminent coming of God’s Kingdom, meaning the inbreaking of God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. He implemented this Kingdom vision by inviting people into the New Covenant, a new way of being in relationship with God and with each other. His primary expression of this Covenant community was the gathering of disciples in the extended family home of Simon and Andrew in Capernaum. When his biological family came from Nazareth to challenge the sanity of Jesus’ actions, he made it clear that this Kingdom community was a new kind of Covenant family…
In our deeply divided society when people are so polarized by politics and religion, what does it mean to follow Jesus in such a way that brings people together into the Kingdom of God?
This is a reflection on one white pastor’s journey from unconscious privilege to a growing awareness of my call to stand with my brothers and sisters of color and join their struggle for equal dignity as children of God and access to the opportunities promised to every US citizen.
Much like the impact of our current pandemic on modern churches, the first church in Jerusalem faced unexpected challenges that prevented them from gathering in large groups for worship. But Jesus had already given them a pattern to follow which allowed them adapt and thrive in the midst of this new challenge. We have the opportunity to thrive as well by equipping and empowering our leaders to follow that same pattern in the next phase of this crisis…
The followers of Jesus claimed to have physically encountered the risen Jesus after his brutal execution on the cross, but some dismissed it as an “idle tale.” How can we know if the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead are credible or not?
Since we are all suddenly trying to figure out how to lead our people in worship when we can’t gather in a building, maybe we can learn something from the first churches who often couldn’t gather together in large groups…
Jesus came into a world dominated by the Roman Empire and a land ruled by the Herods, pseudo-Jewish puppet kings. Yet Jesus lived in and pointed us toward a completely different world, the Kingdom of God. How can we learn to live in that Kingdom today?
