The New Jerusalem Joy

This interactive sermon is based on various passages in Revelation related to "The New Jerusalem Joy." You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Codes and codebreaking—they used to be so much fun. “Dits” and “Dahs” used to mean something when put together in the right sequence. To get into the speakeasy, you needed to have the coded password (it’s “swordfish”). And if you are Ethan Hunt, when the delivery man says, “A storm is coming’,” you need to say, “I am the storm.” Let’s face it, codes are “dit-dah-dit” cool, unless you are reading Revelation. Trust me, if you are reading Revelation like it is a code book, then you are going to be in “dit-dit-dah-dah” trouble. See, Revelation wasn’t written about things to come, but things that are already here. It wasn’t written so that we could get the right date

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All You Need Is Kierkegaard (whah-whah-whah)

We’re talking about love, so let’s start with an easy question. What is love? Here are some right answers (I’m stealing these because I found that I couldn’t answer this “easy” question):  “Love is sharing your popcorn.” – Charles Schultz (How very true!) “Love is being stupid together.” – Paul Valery (Even more true!) “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn (That’s nice.) “Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses.” – Thomas Dewar (That’s not so nice, but unfortunately true.) “Love is a lot like a backache, it doesn’t show up on X-rays, but you know it’s there.” – George Burns (That explains a lot.) “Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.” – Robert Frost (That explains everything!) So, that’s fine, but why do we love that special person? (there’s a website called, “Our Kind of Crazy,” that

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The Revelation of the Dragon

This interactive sermon is based on various passages in Revelation related to "The Revelation of the Dragon." You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Codes and codebreaking—they used to be so much fun. “Dits” and “Dahs” used to mean something when put together in the right sequence. To get into the speakeasy, you needed to have the coded password (it’s “swordfish”). And if you are Ethan Hunt, when the delivery man says, “A storm is coming’,” you need to say, “I am the storm.” Let’s face it, codes are “dit-dah-dit” cool, unless you are reading Revelation. Trust me, if you are reading Revelation like it is a code book, then you are going to be in “dit-dit-dah-dah” trouble. See, Revelation wasn’t written about things to come, but things that are already here. It wasn’t written so that we could get the right

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Give Me Love (Give Me Kierkegaard)

Let’s talk about love. More than that, let’s have a quiz about love or at least about song titles that contain the word, “love.” As you can see, I have removed a key word or two from these popular titles. Your task is to simply to fill in the blank(s). Here’s a sample question: Elton John: “____ ___ ____ the love tonight?” (I know! Giving you the artist is a big hint!). If you said, “Can You Feel,” you are ready to take the quiz. If you said something else, skip the quiz and go directly (but sadly) to the actual post.  Let’s begin. Queen: “_______ _____ ____ Called Love” The Beatles: “All _____ _____ ____ Love” The Everly Brothers: “_____, ____ Love” Adele: “Send My Love (____ ____ ____ ____)” Taylor Swift: “Love _______” Bon Jovi: “You Give Love ___ ____ ____” Foreigner: “I Want ____ ____ What Love

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The Heart of Revelation: Worship

This interactive sermon is based on various passages in Revelation related to the theme of worship. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Codes and codebreaking—they used to be so much fun. “Dits” and “Dahs” used to mean something when put together in the right sequence. To get into the speakeasy, you needed to have the coded password (it’s “swordfish”). And if you are Ethan Hunt, when the delivery man says, “A storm is coming’,” you need to say, “I am the storm.” Let’s face it, codes are “dit-dah-dit” cool, unless you are reading Revelation. Trust me, if you are reading Revelation like it is a code book, then you are going to be in “dit-dit-dah-dah” trouble. See, Revelation wasn’t written about things to come, but things that are already here. It wasn’t written so that we could get the right date

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A Kierkegaardian Primer Parable

We are looking at Mark Tietjen’s excellent book, Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians (IVP Academic, 2016) and we’ve come to his last chapter (not to be confused with the conclusion); which is entitled, “The Life of Christian Love.” But love is a big topic, and so we began our conversation by looking at twelve quotes from Kierkegaard on love in our previous post; and today, we conclude our primer by looking at his parable of the two artists.   Here's the big question: What is the difference between requiring love of the neighbor and finding something to love in the neighbor (I should mention that I found this parable in Thomas Oden’s book, Parables of Kierkegaard, Princeton University press, 1978).  Here’s the parable. . . . “Suppose there were two artists, and the one said, ‘I have traveled much and seen much in the world, but I have sought in

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Suffering and Crying Out for Justice: An Immersive Experience

This interactive sermon is based on various passages in Revelation related to suffering and justice. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Codes and codebreaking—they used to be so much fun. “Dits” and “Dahs” used to mean something when put together in the right sequence. To get into the speakeasy, you needed to have the coded password (it’s “swordfish”). And if you are Ethan Hunt, when the delivery man says, “A storm is coming’,” you need to say, “I am the storm.” Let’s face it, codes are “dit-dah-dit” cool, unless you are reading Revelation. Trust me, if you are reading Revelation like it is a code book, then you are going to be in “dit-dit-dah-dah” trouble. See, Revelation wasn’t written about things to come, but things that are already here. It wasn’t written so that we could get the right date for

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A Kierkegaardian Primer on Love, Part 1

We are looking at Mark Tietjen’s excellent book, Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians (IVP Academic, 2016), and we’ve come to his last chapter (not to be confused with the conclusion); which is entitled, “The Life of Christian Love.” But love is a big topic; and so, before we venture into all that Tietjen wants to say about Kierkegaard’s view of love, I thought it might be good to provide two primers (this week and next week) that will (hopefully) whet our appetite for this subject. We begin today with ten quotes from Kierkegaard on love for us to ponder. Is this too simple? Perhaps. Is it effective? I hope so! Plus, you will thank me next Valentine’s Day when you are looking for a great quote to put in your card.  In any case, here are twelve great Kierkegaard quotes on what it means to love and be loved.

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Babylon Again

This sermon is based on Revelation 18:1-8. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Codes and codebreaking—they used to be so much fun. “Dits” and “Dahs” used to mean something when put together in the right sequence. To get into the speakeasy, you needed to have the coded password (it’s “swordfish”). And if you are Ethan Hunt, when the delivery man says, “A storm is coming’,” you need to say, “I am the storm.” Let’s face it, codes are “dit-dah-dit” cool, unless you are reading Revelation. Trust me, if you are reading Revelation like it is a code book, then you are going to be in “dit-dit-dah-dah” trouble. See, Revelation wasn’t written about things to come, but things that are already here. It wasn’t written so that we could get the right date for the (pre, mid, or post) rapture on our

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