The Kingdom that begins with Lent also begins with blessing. There is the call to turn—repent!—which is Lent. There then comes a pronouncement: “Blessed!” Consider how stunning this is. When Jesus begins to teach about the Kingdom of God, the first word is “Blessed!” This is not what we expected, not from God almighty in …
Category Archives: Mission
ON HAITI AND AFRICA
As last week wound down, and then over the weekend, we all heard reports of disparaging remarks about the nation of Haiti and certain unnamed African countries. These reports have sparked many different kinds of responses from people of different faiths and no faith, different political leanings, and different tones. The Free Methodist Church commits …
BABY AS IMMANUEL!
In a world desperately in need of good news and forlornly weary of platitudes we celebrate the coming of Immanuel—God with us—in the gift of Jesus Glory to God in the highest! Well, yes, but what about us in the lowest? If it doesn’t work for the whole world and all of reality, does it …
FOR FREEDOM!
The Free Methodist Church celebrates Freedom! After all, we are not just Methodists, we are Free Methodists. We are not libertarian (I refer not to the political party but to the dictionary meaning here), not people of license, not given to “whatever,” determined by whomever,” “however” we might. Rather, we are Free in relation to …
JESUS IS THE ELEPHANT
Jesus is the elephant–the elephant of the story, the elephant in the room, and the elephant that is unlike any other. Jesus is the elephant of the story. The story has become a well-known parable, tracing back to ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts some 2500 years ago. Commonly called “the parable of the blind men …