What Happened to the Sabbath Among Christians?
Though the first Christians observed the sabbath since they were Jewish, before long Christians innovated. Some observed the sabbath on Saturday and gathered on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Others made Sunday their “special day.” Though Christians differ on the specific, throughout the centuries most have set apart one day a week as a special day, a time for worship, prayer, and reflection.
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The Redemptive Imagination of Jesus, Part 4
How open are you to being surprised by Jesus and his plans for your life? If Jesus were to call you to something you did not expect, how would you respond? What would hold you back? What would encourage you to speak and live an unequivocal “Yes” to Jesus?
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Don’t Look Up
In his own good time, Christ will bring everything to fulfillment. In the meantime, we should wait for the power, we should work for the mission, and we should not stand around staring at the feet.
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The Elephant in the Room
What do we do about the needy and exploited among us? If we have much, how can we help those who have little? If we have little, what can we expect from those who have much?
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Yes, Virginia, There is a Sunday After Easter
Even as we are recovering from Holy Week’s liturgy marathon—even as we are trying to bring the message of Easter to our daily life and work—even as we doubt and wonder and pray and look for continued transformation—Jesus is with us.
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The Holy Spirit Brings Us Together, Part 1
A few weeks after the death and resurrection of Jesus, during the Jewish holiday of Pentecost, God filled the followers of Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Because of their witness, over 3,000 people joined the fellowship of Jesus-followers. They didn’t just believe new things and go to church on Sunday. Rather, they became deeply engaged with their sisters and brothers in Christ. Their example of deep and extensive community teaches and challenges us. How might we be more connected to our sisters and brothers in Christ?
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Consumerism and Worship, Part 2
Christ’s followers are not called to compete in a consumer market by offering a popular product with an easy-to-swallow message. But neither are Christians called to be intentionally abrasive. Jesus dined with tax-collectors and prostitutes. He was friends with sinners. That’s one of the very things that made him unpopular with the religious leaders of his day.
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Under the Idol, Part 2
All of humanity is meant to glorify God, to draw attention to the weight of his reputation. We are to steward our relationships to God, others, and creation faithfully. God graciously enables image-bearers to seek for him and reach out for him.
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Under the Idol, Part 1
Right under the Athens idol is the One whom Paul’s hearers are searching for. The only reason they were in Athens—making altars and temples to unreal gods—was because the living God they did not know put them there.
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A Light That Loves
Jesus gives directions to Ananias like we give directions in my hometown of Managua, Nicaragua.
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A Light That Blinds
It can be of comfort to us that our Jesus, our Savior, considers his body as communal.
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Legacy of Grace – Part I
In a world obsessed with acquiring and misusing power, they were afraid of Stephen’s grace.
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All the Way My Savior Leads Me
If, like me, you do not have a dramatic darkness-to-light name-changing tale, but merely a life nurtured in Christian community and claiming more and more faith for your own as Jesus kept revealing himself to you, you can still take heart from Paul’s story.
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God’s Invitation to Change as We Age
If we hope to keep growing spiritually as we age, we will need to embrace God’s invitation to new ways of looking at ourselves and new ways of living.
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