Theological Fragments

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...

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The shooting in Connecticut today was a tragedy on a scale few of us can even imagine. The loss of so many people in one instant, most of them young children, shocks and saddens us all. In situations like these it can be difficult for us as Christians to know what to say. How do we confront evil on this kind of scale, and how do we begin to comfort those who were affected by the attack? What comfort can we offer to those who suffer in this world? On the one hand, this task is difficult because the typical answers have become cliche, and we know by now that they simply do not work. We could tell those who suffer that it is all part of God's plan; we can quote the scripture which says that God "works all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose." But these answers do not comfort, and they do not suffice. It is not enough to tell a person surrounded by evil and pain that everything that has happened to them is secretly good...

The word “advent” means “the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.” In the Christian year, the season of Advent has a double meaning. On the one hand, as the season that precedes Christmas it refers to the first coming of Christ two thousand years ago. Advent is the time in which we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ and God’s gift of himself to his people. In this way Advent helps to emphasize the significance of Christmas—we spend the month of December being reminded that this season is about how God himself came to Earth for us. There is, however, a second meaning to the season of Advent. See, there is a common theological phrase—my favorite theological term, in fact, because it is so simply-put and involves no Greek or Latin. The phrase is “Already and not yet.” This term reminds us that many of the promises of Scripture are fulfilled in two stages. If someone asks when the Kingdom of Heaven is coming, the answer is, “Already, and not yet.” After all, Christ foun...