Jun 29, 2012
There is probably no aspect of Christianity more difficult to accept intellectually than the bodily resurrection of Jesus. And one could hardly be blamed for approaching the idea with complete skepticism. It seems so much more plausible that the gospel accounts are speaking either metaphorically or just...
Apr 16, 2012
One pastor’s not-so-creepy look at the God who is in the empty tomb business. The short version: Where there is God, there is life. And the message not merely of Easter, but of the whole biblical story, is that God is everywhere and always about his work. The empty tomb of Jesus was simply...
Apr 6, 2012
As we conclude this series in modern church history, we examine the intellectual challenges that confronted the church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Perhaps the most obvious of these was the rapid progress of scientific discovery – things like James Hutton’s work in geology (radically redefining the...
Mar 25, 2012
It would be nearly impossible to overestimate the impact of John and Charles Wesley on contemporary American Protestantism. From the hymns we sing, to the small groups we attend, to the empowerment of the laity to teach and preach, to the eventual ordination of women into professional ministry, the Wesleys – and the...
Mar 7, 2012
The religious zeal that marked the first Puritan colonies was destined to wane. As new generations were born, and new waves of settlers arrived, new priorities and visions of the good life began to take shape. Many professed a Christian faith and had connection to the church, but not with the same rigor as...