partsofspeaking

  Colossians 1:13-18.   He has delivered us from the power of darkness and [ c ] conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14  in whom we have redemption [ d ] through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [ e ] principalities or [ f ] powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Last week we ended with the question: Why did God create physical reality and time/in time? What do you think? It’s really one of the most important questions in the universe. Lesson 3 says: For his glory. Period, really. That may not soothe our human egos, but heh, we ha

Familiar, yet a mystery. So much here to fill volumes of thought. Some folks won't like this one. The creation account (myth? Story? Narratives?) is not as simple as it seems on the surface, yet a child can understand it. For adults, it means a look at literary form, the big why of God's work, our place in the universe, and understanding competing “narratives” or explanations, even “scientific” ones. This account uses poetic structures that make a point about God’s power, will, purpose, love, design. How did He create the “world” (and by that I mean physical, material reality and time, not just this planet). 3 days forming: Day 1, Light; Day 4, Astronomical entities that “rule” the light Day 2, Seas and Sky, Day 5, Fish and Birds; Day 3, Land and Plants, Day 6, Animals and Humans (Humans Separately)   Second, ex nihilo , out of nothing. There is a song, “One single drop of rain Your salty tear became blue ocean One tiny grain of sand turning in your hand The

This is a remarkable account. I.  We can’t underestimate Paul’s credibility here. One of the things that amazes me about Paul’s story is his personality transformation. He was clearly, from the beginning, a man with leadership. The Sanhedrin gave him power to persecute and prosecute and lead the persecution. He was bent on it, obsessed. After Christ, he truly changed. Key verse: 27:3. Julius found a connection with Paul. He was making all sorts of personal connections. Was he a charismatic person that you were just drawn to for some reason? No, not at all, and that’s the thing. How do I know that? II Corinthians 10:10 10  “For his letters,” they say, “ are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” 11  Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present. What makes a person an effective leader has been written about enough to fill t

 Addendum to Friday's posting.  Yes. Triumph for those who have worked in small and large way to lessen abortion in this country, which has the most extreme abortion "laws" in the industrialized world.  But we have to change our focus dramatically, and with that, our hearts. It is so easy to be judgmental. When I see those screaming women in pro-choice protests and the vandalism of the crisis centers, I can say "What sinners" or "what trauma, needs, deceptions have these women gone through that they want more dead babies, and even celebrates that?"  And listening to Biden's b-s makes me sick. What an idiot. Sorry. Abortion will not end, and probably will not decrease greatly. The reactions of the left make me think they are mentally disturbed and have no education, empathy, sense of history, or intelligence. I am not sure why they see that pregnancy as inevitable! Or that sex with anyone anytime should be consequence-less.  And I need to stay off F

What I've learned about teaching:  the worst teaching method is the one you use all the time. (Jesus used different ones)  People need to be stretched to learn (trials)  Learning is about connections (your brain, which never stops making those as long as it’s healthy)  Connections come from your own effort and from review/reflection/ repetition  So, I want to go back and see where we’ve been, try to use some different methods, and stretch you a little.   Exodus: Moses is redeemed from genocide, essentially. First by midwives, then by his mother and sister, third by Pharoah’s daughter. Women being subversive. Not now.  Moses grows up in privilege, kills a man in anger, doesn’t want to face justice, and flees for 40 years.     He is called miraculously to deliver his people as he was delivered. Hebrews 11 says   3  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; a

  Last week I taught, and as usual didn’t finish. So I want to start with the last point from last week, because it’s really the main idea of this lesson. God’s presence. Multiple times The LORD God assured Joshua, “I will be with you.” The presence of God with the Israelites was symbolized in the pillar of smoke (day) and the pillar of fire (night). These are not random symbols. Fire symbolizes purification, light, and warmth. Smoke is important to sacrifice. In the New Testament the presence of God is a constant reassurance. Jesus’ name Emmanuel: God with us (as the human race). Jesus promise to the church as a whole, “And lo, I will be with you until the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). For individuals, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: I Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 2 Timothy 1:14: “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” Romans 8

 This is beginning excerpt from a book I wrote about 5 years ago, sold few copies, but think has a lot to say.  An ancient example for modern leadership. On January 1, 2015, I began a temporary journey that I am still on. I was appointed the interim assistant vice president for Academic Affairs here. That’s the closest I ever came, or will, to having the word president in my job title. It sounds better and bigger than it was, but I look back on that job with good memories. While the question of whether I was a leader is up for grabs, I do leadership roles on a daily basis. For guidance in leadership as for all matters in my life, I trust an ancient book, the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. One person in the Bible whose leadership fascinates me is Daniel. From Daniel we can learn the character of a leader, the consistency of a leader, and the concerns of a leader. Please forgive me for sounding like a Baptist preacher. In public speaking the first rul

  First, this is an odd lesson and I’m not sure why this incident in I Samuel was chosen for the literature; at the same time, it is not usually taught and usually glossed over, and I think that is a problem. Pastors tend to focus on certain passages instead of the whole Bible; I like that Pastor X is in I Peter because we rarely hear sermons from I Peter but he was the leader of the church and probably the writer behind Mark. What’s going on in I Samuel? About 1100 B.C., 300 years into the promised land. 1.      Time of spiritual ignorance. The people had customs to follow but no reality in it. 2.      Moral anarchy. 3.      Lack of leadership 4.      Other nations, tribes look for chances to conquer Israel I am not, as a Bible teacher, someone who compares Israel to the U.S. or to the church. Those are three separate entities in the Bible and not to be compared literally. But any group can find itself in this situation with these 4 characteristics. Why study the Old

  “The stories never said why she was wicked. It was enough to be an old woman, enough to be all alone, enough to look strange because you have no teeth. It was enough to be called a witch. If it came to that, the book never gave you the evidence of anything. It talked about "a handsome prince"... was he really, or was it just because he was a prince that people called handsome? As for "a girl who was as beautiful as the day was long"... well, which day? In midwinter it hardly ever got light! The stories don't want you to think, they just wanted you to believe what you were told...” ― Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men Fortunately, the narratives of the Bible do not depend on these tropes! We would do well to call them narratives or accounts, not stories. Story makes us human, and there are story/human elements in the Bible (how real is the Prodigal Son to our lives?) but the Bible narratives do not equate beauty with goodness (think Saul!)  or royalty wit