Simply Gospel

The Bible Project: Visual Storytelling Meets The Bible The Bible Project is a collection of visually engaging explorations or accounts, stories, and themes from the Bible. Not only is there a good wealth of well organized information here, but (as a bonus) the design quality and production values of the videos are better than I’m used to seeing. Check it out. You might find something you can use in a future study or you might even learn something yourself. Continue reading

Brian Zahnd: Betrayed By a Kiss What was Judas trying to do and why did he betray Jesus with a kiss? Was Judas trying to force Jesus’ hand — trying to push him out of his Sermon on the Mount ethics of enemy-love? Was Judas was trying to force Jesus to resort to violence and start the war for Jewish independence? I think so. The reason Judas greeted Jesus with the customary kiss (which was also a covert sign), is that Judas didn’t so much want to betray Jesus as he wanted manipulate Jesus. Judas wanted to manipulate Jesus into… Continue reading

Timothy Archer: 7 Thoughts That Help Me Extend Grace I need to remember… That I’m wrong. About something. That I’ve changed my views over the years. That I’ve exchanged some wrong views for right ones. That I’ve exchanged some right views for wrong ones. That nobody chooses to be wrong. That every fellow believer deserves the benefit of the doubt. That only God will determine in the end who is His and who is not. A humbling meditation. Continue reading

Desiring God: Internet Trolls in Church Clothes How now shall we comment? Consider some examples of the kind of questions we can ask ourselves before posting. Am I speaking from a soul satisfied in God or from my discontent? Have I prayed for this person to whom I’m about to respond? Have I labored to understand what he is saying? Do I love this person (1 Peter 2:15–17) — even if they feel like an enemy (Matthew 5:43)? Am I merely trying to one-up him? How would I phrase this critique if I had to speak it to him face… Continue reading

Vox: I’m a Scholar of the “Prosperity Gospel.” It Took Cancer to Show Me I Was in Its Grip. It is true that the prosperity gospel encourages people — especially its leaders — to revel in private jets and multimillion-dollar homes as evidence of God’s love. But among the less well-heeled believers, I sensed a different kind of yearning, one that wasn’t entirely materialistic. Believers wanted an escape: from poverty, failing health, and the feeling that their lives were leaky buckets. Some people wanted Bentleys, but more wanted relief from the wounds of their past and the pain of their… Continue reading

Sojourners: 8 Sayings Christians Use to Let Ourselves Off the Hook We’ve mastered Christian-ese catch phrases to get us off the hook from ever really having to love our neighbor as ourselves. Before I go on, please allow me to climb off my high horse and admit that I know all of these phrases by heart because I have disingenuously used them all myself. They’ve rolled off my tongue with ease and a sense of identity. But the more I listen to those who have suffered, the more I realize how much I’ve manipulated Scripture to stay comfortable. These sayings… Continue reading

The Morning Drive: You Keep Using that Verse, But . . . Every where I go, I hear Christians and Bible-minded people quoting passages of scripture or I see certain passages on signs, bumper stickers, or on personalized car plates (tags). At first glance these passages seem to be encouraging or seem to be full of promise. Yet, often, after a deeper look at the context of the passage, they do not say what the sign, sticker, or tag implies. I have selected three of the more popular of these scriptures from the Old Covenant to share and explore. There’s a New… Continue reading

Tim Archer has shared some thoughtful posts about the composition and inspiration of the Bible. I highly recommend checking these posts out and participating in the discussion. Some Initial Thoughts on Inspiration Thoughts On the Composition of the Bible The N.T. Writers Really Complicated the Situation! Follow-Up To Comments On the New Testament Writers Which Came First? Continue reading

Water to Wine Gathering Brian Zahnd and the Word of Life Church are putting together a conference that sounds quite interesting. Water To Wine is a gathering for those who sense the falseness prevailing in Americanized Christianity and yearn for something better. It’s a gathering for those who want to see the church rescued from fundamentalism, consumerism, and nationalism. It’s a gathering for those asking Jesus to transform their spiritual life from water to wine! … Over three days we’ll talk about theology. We’ll talk about church life and ministry. We’ll talk about the menace of American civil religion. We’ll share… Continue reading

Desiring God: Would You Let a Stranger Live with You? Just the other night, my husband and I were talking to our kids about a difficult hospitality decision that would affect all of us. We reminded them that we have to start with the question, “Is this something that God is calling us as a family to do?” Because if the answer is yes, it doesn’t really matter if we initially feel like doing it or not. Some would say we are asking our kids to give up more than they should — that we are supposed to put their needs above… Continue reading