There is a marvelous flow of teaching from Matthew 7:1-12 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, your …
A difficult rebirth for Jesus’ gospel
Jesus' gospel is having a difficult rebirth. Harnack (1851-1930) made the breakthrough. What is called “the quest for the historical Jesus” developed from stirrings in the later 18th century in Europe. As inquiry continued into the 19th century, some professors of theology in German universities …
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How shall we prepare to lay down our lives like Jesus?
Jesus taught us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love the neighbor as yourself. And he also said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Remember the context (John 15): Jesus was about to lay down his life for his actual and potential friends. There is a fullness of …
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What does it mean that Jesus is the good shepherd?
Watch the 17:50 video or listen to the audio file. Before Moses appointed Joshua as his successor, he prayed to God to “appoint someone over the congregation who [would] go out before them and come in before them, who [would] lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of …
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Peacemaking in the gender debate
Religious folks sometimes become divided over “culture-war”-type debates, such as the debates regarding gender. Different “sides” emphasize different values, and confusion is common. To make peace, it helps to make a philosophical distinction between (1) our spiritual equality as infinitely loved, …
The historical Jesus according to Crossan
Watch the 22-minute video or listen to the audio file? Overture. 3-page narrative of Jesus’ life; 25 pages of the sayings of Jesus (i-xxvi). Prologue (methodology, to be summarized at the …
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