Redemptive suffering is ghastly theology. Seldom is suffering redemptive and if it were, surely humanity would be redeemed by now.
01596 – Redemptive Suffering?
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01577 – A Strange Scene
It is as strange a scene as there is in the Gospels... It was Jesus of Nazareth all right, the man they'd tramped many a dusty mile with, whose mother and brothers they knew, the one they'd seen as hungry, tired, footsore as the rest of them. But it was also the...
01499 – One Style, or Two Styles of Worship?
To call for two styles and to find impetus for the wintry sort of search demands boldness. It receives so little attention that anyone who defends it may well express the old reformers' anxiety: Am I alone right, and is the whole church wrong? Why in our era does the...
01489 – The Purpose of Our Deliverance
Christians, we have maintained, are those who through confrontation with death are given new freedom from the sting of death and so a new freedom for voluntary service to others. Surely if this claim has any truth in it, then it is not our own suffering but the...
01480 – Imagine That!
We do not preach for any reason except that God has called us and seeks to use our voices for the liberation of humanity. So when we preach God's redemptive word, guess what? Our voices, our piping, little sin-struck, frightened, underpaid, hesitant voices just happen...
01472 – Blessed are the Hand-Holders and Truth-Tellers
Our culture insists in looking for things we can measure, signs of a life well lived through metrics like health, strength, and success, but maybe we, too, should start listening for new vital signs; beds surrounded by loved ones, legacies of kindness and generosity,...
01459 – We Are Not Alone
Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are...
01450 – Homesick for Intimacy
I have the sense that part of what it means to be human is that, on this side of Jordan, even on my best days I will always feel a little homesick for intimacy with my Creator.
01438 – Jesus Understands Us
The person to whom we pray, the man we hope to follow, the one who is risen from the dead, understands us--because he lived a human life, and one that, particularly in his final week, was filled with suffering. from Seven Last Words: An Invitation to a Deeper...
01424 – Jesus Always Went where the Pain Was
There is no side to take in the Twelve Step Program! It is not a worthiness contest. There is only an absolutely necessary starting point! The experience of "powerlessness" is where we all must begin. And Alcoholics Anonymous (A. A.) is honest and humble enough to...