Theological Fragments

Last week we focused on the story of Abraham and his exile in Canaan. We talked about God’s promise to provide him a child through his wife Sarah, and about how Abraham and Sarah put the plan in jeopardy by trying to have the child of promise through Sarah’s slavegirl, Hagar. We focused on the role this story played in Abraham’s story of faith. In the Bible, however, Hagar is more than just a side character in Abraham’s story. She has her own story that is surprising, compelling, and challenging in its own right. So today, in honor of Mother’s Day, and all the women who have been treated—or felt like—supporting characters in someone else’s story, we are going to tell the story of Hagar: a woman in exile who had an amazing encounter with God and responded in active, vibrant faith. I. Why was Hagar in Exile? ·          Hagar was a slave and a foreign outsider among God’s special people. (Genesis 16:1) Hagar enters our story as a side character...

Last week we looked at the story of Joseph, a man who was sent into exile by the evil actions of his brothers his master’s wife. We talked about how God used Joseph’s exile to prepare and empower him to accomplish God’s plan to protect his people. So far in this series, I have been focusing on what we can do during this time of exile—but there is another side of exile that we need to talk about: sometimes (especially now, for many people) being in exile means that we cannot do anything. How do we handle exile during those times when there is no clear way to move God’s plan forward in our own spheres of influence? That is the question we will address today, by focusing on the story of Abraham’s exile. Now, Abraham is not someone we traditionally associate with exile, so let’s begin by understanding the nature of Abraham’s exile. I.   Why was Abraham in exile? ·          God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a new land. (Genesis 1...

In this series we are focusing on stories of God’s people in exile. Here I am defining “exile” as times when we are cut off from our homes, from our comfort zones, or from the fellowship of God’s people. Obviously, since the church building is closed, we are all in exile in a certain degree. But exile is a common human experience. We all go through seasons where we are adrift, directionless, isolated, unsure of where we are going or what God is doing. In another sense, Christians are always exiles in this world, because this fallen world is not our home (yet). So we all have to find a way to live in exile. In this series we will look at stories of people in exile to answer the questions that often ask about our own times in exile, to learn to see God at work and to know how to follow God.  Our first story of exile is one of the greatest stories in the Bible, the story of Joseph. This is an amazing tale in intrigue, drama, and reconciliation. In this sermon we will only have time ...

The word "Gospel" comes from an Old English word that means "Good News"--which, of course, is the meaning of the Greek word that "gospel" replaces. When Jesus came to preach his message, it was described as "Good News." So what exactly was that good news? I have preached/taught on this topic many times, and whenever I ask the audience to summarize the Gospel in one verse, they always pick the same one. You know which verse I'm talking about: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ​(John 3:16, ESV) In the Western Church, John 3:16 is considered the most important verse in the Bible. It is so central to the message of the Bible that it has become shorthand for the entire Gospel--hence why people write it on signs and in their greasepaint at sporting events. The idea seems to be that if a person got curious enough to look that verse up, they would fin...

"We beasts remember, even if dwarfs forget, that  Narnia was never right except when a Son of Adam was King."   (Trufflehunter,  Prince Caspian ) Last time, I talked about why God created the human race--to rule over the world on his behalf. This, of course, is a radical shift in how most of us were taught to think about the Christian life. We were taught that being a Christian means waiting for Heaven, not taking stewardship of the Earth. This shift in focus begs a question: what exactly is our relationship with creation in Scripture? Last time we looked at Genesis 1:26-28, where God declares that he has created humanity to rule the Earth. There we find God establishing an ecosystem between Heaven and Earth. God created the world, with its plants and animals, and he called it good. God loves his creation--you can see that in God's responses to Job, beginning in Job 38. He creates human beings--physical creatures with spiritual awareness, with the capacity t...