ASHEVILLE, N.C. (RNS) — Poor people have often told pastor Brian Combs that the hardest thing about standing at highway intersections holding up a cardboard sign and begging for money is not hearing the click of automatic doors locking. It’s seeing people avert their eyes.
The world offers many ideas about God and faith. Denominations, like any human institution, tend to be self-congratulatory and dogmatic, but Jesus offers a radical understanding of God, salvation, and real life.
You never know what a child will pick up listening to conversations and media. But lately, other little ears have been in the news, courtesy of handy home and mobile devices.
Jesus loved us in the most graphic way, dying on a cross. The Apostle John wants his readers to live out God's grace, to offer the world the life only God's love can make possible.
Our lesson is aptly titled “Living in the Light.” Now there is a title that challenges God's church in our world! John is timely as he calls us to live the Christ life and show the world a better way.
(RNS) — Deconstructing or denouncing one’s faith isn’t new. What is new are statements by those such as author Joshua Harris and Hillsong Worship member Marty Sampson are being made on social media, and the visibility and response they are generating.
We want things explained, laid out in a nice neat package. Believe and do! But life is complex and we are too easily distracted. So John says, pay attention to how deeply God loves you and what Christ endured to make that love real and
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) – The story of VeggieTales, the beloved Christian cartoon sow, can be summed up in a famed line from one of its creators' comedy paragons, "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail": "I'm not dead yet!"
However you choose to describe the writer of Ecclesiastes – preacher, sage, ethicist, philosopher – he is definitely a realist. He acknowledges the facts of life, but he trusts God without demanding answers to all his questions.
No one likes to make a bad choice, so we hunt for quality options and the best bargains. However, there are others that prefer you to make their choice, rather than the best one.