The story before us today from Mark chapter 6, is a wonderful and exciting tale. It is a […]
discipleship
Herod the Great had built up a magnificent and powerful rule. He was authoritative and feared. He was […]
John chapter 15 is rooted in the midst of a very long section of our Lord’s teaching. It […]
The end of John chapter 20 is one of my all-time favorite texts. I know I probably say […]
To be a Christian should not be something taken lightly. It is not something that effects just one […]
Over the years I have grown increasingly aware that my experience in Christianity is quite narrow. I have […]
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” No Words. No Jesus. From […]
For some reason, whenever I hear the term “circumcision party”, I picture the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice and Wonderland. I’m not completely sure why. Perhaps it’s the overall absurdity of each statement that is somehow laced with just enough reason to make it somewhat comprehendible. Reason turned on its head, but reason nonetheless.
They call it the Great Commission. It is the sending out of the Church of God with a purpose, a mission that gives it its definition. This is not a one-time or temporary thing the Church is to do, like a checkmark on a long list of other priorities. No, this is its very identity. It is what we are to fill our days with as we await the end of all things and the return of our Lord. On a mountaintop in Galilee Jesus meets His disciples. There they worship their resurrected Lord and He says to them, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
I must have been in Sunday School when I first learned the song. It was one we loved to sing because there were hand movements and parts we got to shout out. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”