Referencing the great presidential scandal of 1998, Monica Lewinsky said, “I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.” It has taken her over a decade to speak publicly about what has happened and what she experienced.
Over the past month or so my family has been in the midst of a transition. About a month ago we got keys to our house and for the past several weeks, we have been doing project after project trying to prepare the house for us to live in.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has a loaded, profound statement when he says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
In 1985 the Coca-Cola Company introduced a new formula for their flagship soda. Perhaps this may not seem like a big deal, but keep in mind I’m not talking about adding a new product like Cherry Coke, Diet Coke, or Vanilla Coke.
There is one question that has the potential to bring more harm to our relationships than any other.
“What’s in it for me?” Without even thinking, our natural bent is so often apt to ask this question. We are constantly looking out for our own benefit. Perhaps you’ve experienced a conflict in your home or with a coworker or classmate; how would that conflict be different if nobody asked, “What’s in it for me?”
Who was the worst sinner of all time?
If we create a list of historically significant sinners, I have a feeling our list would be filled with people like Stalin and Hitler. We’d fill our list with the figures behind mass murders, bombings, terrorism, or serial killing. And rightfully so, when it comes to the atrocities of the evil that these people committed, it is unparalleled.
Monday often means stress, deadlines, burdens, and anxiety. It becomes the day when we dread the overly cheerful coworker who makes our day worse by suggesting, “Sounds like somebody has a cased of the Mondays.”
Noah is one of those Bible characters that we love to tell our children about. We sing songs about the arky, we remake movies based on his life, and we lift him up as one of the early heroes of the faith. And in many ways, he is a hero. But there’s also a part of the story that we tend to leave out.
Renee Alston, in the book Stumbling Toward Faith, begins her story with these disturbing words:
“I grew up in an abusive household."
One of the most frequent recommendations within Christian traditions when dealing with habitual sin is to have an accountability partner. If you’re unfamiliar with the jargon, an accountability partner is a friend, preferably of the same gender, who struggles with a similar sin who will routinely check in with you to see whether or not you are having success in your battle against sin.
In Luther’s day, he traditionally taught, three primary spheres of calling, usually combining family and work into the same sphere and with the same purpose.
Who would have ever imagined that when Jesus makes this statement to Peter, that he would later be a coward the moment when Jesus, who he is confessing his faith in, would be hung on a cross.
Lee Jong-rak is a pastor in South Korea. In South Korea, every year, hundreds of babies are left for dead on the sides of streets. Pastor Lee had an overwhelming sense that he needed to do something to save these dying babies.
In the beginning of April, I released an abridged version of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians entitled Galatians: Selections from Martin Luther’s Commentary. The goal with this version of the commentary was simple, I wanted average, everyday people who would normally be intimidated by the work of Luther to have an easy way to dive into the work of Martin Luther.
Galatians is one of Luther’s most significant works and is foundational in understanding the distinction between Law and Gospel. In my original post, here’s how I described what I was attempting to do
Any talks of parenting will inevitably lead to a couple of feelings. It will leave us with a greater sense of responsibility and significance in the things we should be doing as parents. Or we will feel an overwhelming sense of guilt by what we fail to do.
