Sharing Life and Christ

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 12:24-26 The concept captured in these words of Jesus is one that I am more and more convinced is the essence of being a Christian, not just by name, but a real Christian, a disciple of King Jesus, who treasures Christ above all things.  I can remember over a year ago while studying the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 that a similar statement of Jesus hit me in a fresh way, and it has continued to be a convicting call to something much more radical than I am naturally inclined to pursue.  I certainly have not arrived and wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m setting some example wi...

One of the most exciting (and terrifying) things that I am wrestling with right now has to do with doing justice.  With gratitude to Christopher Wright’s understanding of Church Mission, I have realized that I need to become more aware of how I “fit” in God’s story of redemption.  In other words, how is my personal salvation linked to the big picture of redemption history?   I am coming to appreciate all of Scripture more and more because the different parts (narrative, prophetic, epistles, etc) each provide concentrated themes that don’t seem to be emphasized as clearly in other parts.  For example, the Old Testament narratives are pretty great at repeatedly describing the fallen condition of man’s heart, God’s exceedingly great patience, and the judgment on sin that is inevitable apart from God’s mercy.   With recognition of my weak understanding of the prophetic literature, I set out to read all of the prophetic books of the Old Testament back in Feb...

One of the most exciting (and terrifying) things that I am wrestling with right now has to do with doing justice.  With gratitude to Christopher Wright’s understanding of Church Mission, I have realized that I need to become more aware of how I “fit” in God’s story of redemption.  In other words, how is my personal salvation linked to the big picture of redemption history?   I am coming to appreciate all of Scripture more and more because the different parts (narrative, prophetic, epistles, etc) each provide concentrated themes that don’t seem to be emphasized as clearly in other parts.  For example, the Old Testament narratives are pretty great at repeatedly describing the fallen condition of man’s heart, God’s exceedingly great patience, and the judgment on sin that is inevitable apart from God’s mercy.   With recognition of my weak understanding of the prophetic literature, I set out to read all of the prophetic books of the Old Testament back in Feb...

One of the most exciting (and terrifying) things that I am wrestling with right now has to do with doing justice.  With gratitude to Christopher Wright’s understanding of Church Mission, I have realized that I need to become more aware of how I “fit” in God’s story of redemption.  In other words, how is my personal salvation linked to the big picture of redemption history?   I am coming to appreciate all of Scripture more and more because the different parts (narrative, prophetic, epistles, etc) each provide concentrated themes that don’t seem to be emphasized as clearly in other parts.  For example, the Old Testament narratives are pretty great at repeatedly describing the fallen condition of man’s heart, God’s exceedingly great patience, and the judgment on sin that is inevitable apart from God’s mercy.   With recognition of my weak understanding of the prophetic literature, I set out to read all of the prophetic books of the Old Testament back in Feb...

One of the most exciting (and terrifying) things that I am wrestling with right now has to do with doing justice.  With gratitude to Christopher Wright’s understanding of Church Mission, I have realized that I need to become more aware of how I “fit” in God’s story of redemption.  In other words, how is my personal salvation linked to the big picture of redemption history?   I am coming to appreciate all of Scripture more and more because the different parts (narrative, prophetic, epistles, etc) each provide concentrated themes that don’t seem to be emphasized as clearly in other parts.  For example, the Old Testament narratives are pretty great at repeatedly describing the fallen condition of man’s heart, God’s exceedingly great patience, and the judgment on sin that is inevitable apart from God’s mercy.   With recognition of my weak understanding of the prophetic literature, I set out to read all of the prophetic books of the Old Testament back in Feb...