In Blog, Easter, Theology on
March 17, 2024

The Evidence for Easter

Two thousand years ago, a man named Jesus walked on the earth.

This is a historical fact that even secular scholars will affirm. Jesus of Nazareth was a real person who lived in first century Israel. Even if they don’t believe that Jesus was divine in any way, even if they don’t believe that Jesus performed wonders and miracles during His earthly ministry, they do acknowledge and believe in Jesus’ existence. Even other world religions, like Islam and Baha’i, teach that Jesus was a great prophet and teacher in His day.

What keeps secularists and those who subscribe to other religions from believing in the true Jesus, from professing that Jesus was truly divine? Different people are likely to give different responses, but it really boils down to a disbelief in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We live in a post-Enlightenment world, after all, that thrives on science and reason, a society that balks at the ideas of miracles or spiritual afterlives. Coming back from the dead is impossible, something that would quite literally require a miracle. So, for a people who don’t believe in the miraculous, they can’t bring themselves to believe that Jesus could have actually resurrected from the dead, especially three days after the fact.

While Christianity is a religion that is rooted in faith, it’s also based on fact—the fact that Jesus died for our sins and resurrected to give us new life. This isn’t something that we just blindly believe in; there’s evidence that points to the veracity of these claims. And when we review this evidence, we can become more confident in our faith and be emboldened to spread the truth about what really happened in Jerusalem two millennia ago.

Read more
In Bible Study, Blog, Hosea on
February 12, 2024

Steadfast Love Over Sacrifice

We wake up early and go the church on Sunday mornings. We read our Bibles daily, checking off each box on our Read the Bible in a Year plan. We promise to pray for our friends in their times of great need. We donate ten percent of our paychecks as a tithe. And if our churches offer them, we attend Wednesday night services, volunteer on the weekends, and send our kids and youth to every event that’s made available for them.

None of these things—church attendance, daily Bible reading, donating or volunteering—are bad things. In fact, they are excellent ways for Christians to spend their time and resources. But they can become problematic when we start seeing these things as items to check off our spiritual to-do list, as things that all “good Christians” ought to do. When this happens, we begin just going through the motions, living the “good Christian” life without ever actually growing closer to God or maturing in our faith. We may even view ourselves as “superior” believers because we’re doing all the “right things,” when in reality those who are doing less may find themselves closer to God’s heart than we are.

The truth is that living the good Christian life is less about our actions and outward appearances and more about our hearts.

Read more
By /
In Blog, Fruit of the Spirit, Theology on
January 15, 2024

Pursuing Peace

With the rise of the internet and social media, our world is much more connected than ever before. While this kind of technology has brought numerous blessings, it’s also been the cause of many curses. With just a tap or a click, we have access to more information that we can imagine—perhaps more information than we truly need. We watch scenes of political unrest unfold in cities across the country. We read articles about the devastation of wars happening halfway around the globe. We see aggravating posts and comments from people who we would never meet in real life. While some might say that this unhindered access to the world’s information is good for us, many others would argue that it is only causing us to be riddled with anxiety.

Regardless of how much time we spend perusing news sites or scrolling on Facebook, we all likely carry some anxiety about what is happening in our communities, in our cities, and around the world. We are a people who are in desperate need of peace. And thankfully, we have a God who can give that to us.

Read more
By /
In Bible Study, Blog, Luke on
December 19, 2023

It’s a Christmas Miracle

Christmas is truly one of my favorite times of the year. I love everything about it—the classic music, the festive decorations, the delicious treats, the parties, the presents, and of course, the movies. There are a handful of Christmas movies that really are some of my top movies of all time, but my family refuses to watch anything remotely Christmas-y outside of that month or so between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, so we always have to cram them all in before the holiday season is over.

One reason why I (and probably many others) love Christmas movies is that they feel so comforting and nostalgic to watch, and I think that’s often because they use tropes that we all know and love, like Santa actually being a real person, Christmas being in danger and in need of saving, the importance of family, the grump who has a heart change, and the couple who falls in love over the holidays (even if they hated each other in the beginning). One trope that appears in a lot of Christmas movies is the Christmas Miracle.

The Christmas Miracle trope usually pops up near the end of the movie at a point when everything seems lost, and then by some sudden stroke of Christmas magic, a miracle occurs and all is saved or made right. In Home Alone, Kevin is about to be tortured by Harry and Marv, but then his not-so-scary neighbor rescues him, the cops show up to arrest the Wet Bandits, and Kevin’s mom finally makes it home on Christmas Day. In Elf, Santa and Buddy are about to be caught by the Central Park Rangers, but then Jovie is able to inspire enough people to sing and have Christmas spirit so that Santa’s sleigh can fly. And in your average Hallmark movie, there is always some way for the big city character to save the failing small-town Christmas cookie store, Christmas tree farm, or some other Christmas-themed business.

But I believe the best example of a Christmas miracle is not found in a movie or book but in the small city of Nazareth around two thousand years ago.

Read more
By /
In Blog, Jesus, Theology on
December 5, 2023

Jesus Came For Everybody

One of my favorite animated movies of all time is the 1959 Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. With its stunning scenery, iconic music, and a princess who dons a pink gown, it’s been a beloved movie of mine since childhood. In the opening scene, royalty, powerful fairies, and other important people in the kingdom are ushered into the palace to celebrate the birth and christening of Princess Aurora. And as we all know, things go awry when an uninvited evil fairy shows up to the celebration.

While Sleeping Beauty is a fictional fairy tale, the pomp and circumstance of this beginning scene is likely what we imagine when a new baby is born to a member of royalty or influence. Sure, we may not necessarily expect waving banners or hailing the new child in song, but we do expect the family to be surrounded by powerful and important friends and allies as they welcome their newborn progeny.

However, when the King of the universe came down to earth and was born in human flesh, there was no pomp and circumstance. Banners weren’t waved, and the newborn Son was not serenaded by a little drummer boy, despite what the song says. The little family was visited by two different groups of people during Jesus’ infanthood, but they were not exactly the types of people you might expect to show up for such an occasion.

Read more