Energion.com Blogger Highlights

The Meaning of Christ's Ascension

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Yesterday was Ascension Day and in two days the church will observe Ascension Sunday. What is the theological significance of Christ's Ascension?
Traditionally, the exaltation of Christ encompasses four teachings which are confessed in the Nicene Creed: 1. Christ's descent into the nether world ("descended into hell," or "descended to the dead"), 2. his resurrection, 3. his ascension, and 4. his session ("sits at the right hand of the Father"). The first teaching is controversial among [Read more at Allan R. Bevere]

Why Ask

Thu, 17 May 2012 11:39:00 -0500

Why is it that we need to ask God for anything? I mean, He is the all knowing, all seeing God, is He not? So, if He knows everything we want and need, what's the point? Why doesn't He just pass out what we need as soon as we need it, without us having to ask?

There are probably a lot of reasons He desires us to ask. I'm sure this is not a complete list, but here are some of my thoughts.
Read more » [Read more at Greg's Watering Hole]

Wait for It!

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

[reprinted November 16, 2009]

~ Henry Neufeld

18He said, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it?” 19It is like a mustard seed which someone plants in his garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds in the sky came and perched on its branches. Luke 13:18-19 (HN)

We like to get things fast. We like to see the connections and to know just how we got whatever we got. This desire for “instant gratification” is often an accusation of the older generation [Read more at Jody's Devotionals]

Proclamation and Celebration -- A Review

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:50:00 -0500

PROCLAMATION AND CELEBRATION: Preaching on Christmas, Easter, and Other Festivals (Fortress Resources for Preaching). By Susan K. Hedahl. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012. Viii + 168 pages.
People who follow the ecclesiastical year or the lectionary will have come across several festivals that mark the great doctrinal emphases of the church -- Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday. Each festival marks an episode in [Read more at Bob Cornwall]

The Epistles of John: Living in Truth and Love. 1 John 3:14-15

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:59:00 -0500

Week 30: May 13, 2012

John continues building on the ideal that we are children of God, contrasting sin with abiding in him.

Study

14 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love one another. The person who does not love[1] remains spiritually[2] dead.

- As is his pattern, John, having given the negative teaching that hating your brother is from the evil one, now gives the positive side: Loving your brother is from God, the one [Read more at Elgin Hushbeck: Politics and Religion]

It Is Who You Know

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:14:00 -0500

I know you've heard someone start a sentence with: "It's not who you know..." This is usually when the conversation is about attaining some goal or position in life. We may want that phrase to be true if we are the one on the outside, trying for instance to get a new job. However we might welcome the thought of, "it is who you know", if we are already fishing buddies with our potential new boss.
Read more » [Read more at Greg's Watering Hole]

The Way

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:00 -0500

[reprinted from February 8, 2010]

19Now then, brethren, we have boldness to go into the holiest place through the blood of Jesus, 20which he placed as a living way through the curtain, not previously available, which is his flesh. 21Jesus is also a great priest over the household of God. 22So let’s come with true hearts and full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from bad conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22 (my translation) [Read more at Jody's Devotionals]

It's a Small World -- After All!

Wed, 16 May 2012 08:30:00 -0500

I love Disneyland, but getting stuck on the Small World ride isn't my cup of tea! I've been on the ride enough to know that it's not may favorite, but it does have a message that is pertinent for today.
We live in a global society. We can try to hide, but we fail. Gas prices in the United States are influenced by global oil prices. Gas prices are relatively high right now, even though there's plenty of gas supplies. The Stock Market has fallen in recent days, [Read more at Bob Cornwall]

Are You Sure You Don’t Want More?

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:06:00 -0500

Ferod stood in shock in front of the shrine. He’d distinctly heard the words.

“Are you sure you don’t want more?”

He didn’t really believe in the old gods. Nobody even seemed to remember the names of whatever god or gods this shrine might be dedicated to. But he had run out of money to pay for seed grain, and if he had no seed grain there would be no planting, then, of course, no harvest, and therefore no seed grain for next year either. So he came to the shrine and asked the [Read more at Jevlir Caravansary]

“A New Plan”

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:57:00 -0500

This is the message that I presented at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, Brighton, TN on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, 4 May 1997. The Scriptures for this Sunday were Acts 10: 44 – 48, 1 John 5: 1 – 6, and John 15: 9 – 17.

I should note before I start that I have been told preachers should never preach about money. This sermon, though it may sound like it is about money, is not about money but rather, is about planning.

You have probably heard, read, or seen [Read more at Thoughts from the Heart on the Left]