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THE IMAGE OF GOD IS A ROLE, NOT A QUALITY
Early in his “Introduction to Biblical theology”, Tracing God’s Story, Dr. Jon Nielson briefly reviews a few of the most prevalent theories among scholars regarding the significance of humanity being created “in God’s image” in Genesis 1. He writes: Nielson doesn’t feel it necessary to evaluate the strengths of any of these possibilities. In fact, he concludes, “Most likely, the concept of the image of God in human beings is some combination of all these amazing truths.” “Probably the best way to summarize the concept of the image of God is to say simply that human beings “reflect” the character and…
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FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. I love these verses in the 1st chapter of Colossians. I love that Paul is praying for a church he has never met. Churches sometimes operate under the impression that…
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KNOWLEDGE IS KEY
Currently I am diving into Paul’s letter to the Colossians. And killing two birds with one stone. 1) I am preaching a series on it. (Started officially last week.) 2) It is the key text for my dissertation. One of the big themes of the letter is proper Learning/Knowledge and its role in discipleship. From the opening lines of the letter, Paul speaks of the gospel “bearing fruit and growing” among the brothers at Colossae and how that growth started “the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth”. (Col 1:6) When Paul prays for these believers,…
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HARSH REALITIES
The harsh realities of life paused my daily writing habit during the first 3+ weeks of 2025. As Melissa’s mother faced her final days of life, I had neither time nor energy to close my days for the sort of written reflection which had been a staple of the last three years. Besides that, most of my usual subjects seem rather inconsequential while I was in the presence of a family member about to enter eternity. Gertrude “Trudy” Opal Lucas fought a 20-month battle against colon cancer and succumbed on Sunday, January 12 just a few minutes before noon. The…
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FOCUS ON REMOVING THE OLD SELF AND ITS PRACTICES GO WITH IT
I am planning a sermon series on Paul’s letter to the Colossians to begin the new year at Sardinia Baptist. It will be killing two birds with one stone: a number of sermons plus material for my dissertation. Colossians as a whole – with Paul’s emphasis on the interplay between knowledge and change in the Christian’s life – is the Scriptural basis for my ministry project. My key verse comes in Chapter 3: 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which…
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JANUARY IS FOR EXPERIMENTING
In the midst of small talk over the last few days, several people have asked me if I plan to make any New Year’s resolutions. I don’t know how to answer because I don’t really think in terms of resolutions these days. The connotation of that word “resolution” is of making a commitment and then screwing up the appropriate amount of willpower to follow through with it. And it’s common knowledge that the majority of the population has no interest in making resolutions and, of those who DO make resolutions, the majority of resolvers quietly wave the white flag by…
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BRING ON JANUARY
Melissa and I walked through the local Sam’s Club yesterday and we couldn’t help but laugh. When you first walk through the doors, to the left is a wall of merchandise, curving in and guiding you toward the heart of the store. A week ago that wall was all sugar cookies, Christmas candies, and stocking stuffers. But now that all the Christmas treats had been clearanced, the wall was all protein shakes, dumbbells, and exercise equipment. I love the changing of the seasons! Time for healthier eating, writing resolutions, and renewed discipline. January rocks.
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THE IMAGE
I used to understand humanity being created in “the image of God” in the traditional sense, usually articulated something like this: “To be created [in the image of God] means being endowed with an immortal spirit, a capacity to know and be known by God, a measure of autonomy and free will in the areas of thought and action, each of which separate us from the rest of creation.” – Daniel Becker There are problems with this sort of definition, though. And the main one is this: it is not grounded in careful word study and context of Genesis 1,…
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ANEMIC THEOLOGY
I received a Christmas email from an innovative ministry providing rugged, affordable transportation to impoverished people in the boonies of Africa and elsewhere. I fully support the organization, but I cringed at their Christmas theology: Merry Christmas! Do you know the completion of the Christmas Story? It involves transportation. Jesus is coming back. He will come on the clouds, a unique form of transport. When I’m asked “What is the most affordable transportation in the universe?” I say it’s the supernatural trip to heaven. If you believe Jesus died for your sins and that he is your Lord and Savior,…
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CHRISTMAS LETTER 2024
December 2024 Dear Friends and Family, Melissa and I wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! We trust 2025 will find you and yours securely in the palm of God’s hand. 2024 has been a rollercoaster. On the upside, our family saw two college graduations (Hannah from Olivet and Samuel from Ball State), another trip to Ghana for Steve, a couple of trips to Myrtle Beach and one to New Jersey, some fun house and yard projects, our nephew’s wedding in Milwaukee, and numerous show choir performances with Sarah. On…