So forgiveness pre-requires understanding the mistakes of the past? here hear re this opposing this me-first, America-first, white-first, male-first approach>…
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 1: The Gospel Community
Read MORE: Lesson 1: The Gospel CommunityThere has always been some controversy about the nature of the church. When I entered the ministry about 60 years ago, an Evangelical pastor friend of mine described the controversy as a tension between those who see the mission as…
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Lesson 2: The Gospel
Read MORE: Lesson 2: The GospelThe Gospel is like the breath we Christians draw into our bodies. It gives us life. It permeates everything we do, every decision we make, every word we speak. Yet, it is difficult to grasp. I am writing this series…
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Lesson 3: The Gospel According to Paul
Read MORE: Lesson 3: The Gospel According to PaulI’ve been messing around for days trying to come up with an academic key to what Paul means by the Gospel. I tried all the usual ones, like our Lutheran understanding that he is all about justification by faith. Each…
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Lesson 4: The Gospel According to Mark
Read MORE: Lesson 4: The Gospel According to MarkI set out to examine what a community built around the Gospel would be like in our time and place. It made sense to begin by defining what the Gospel is. Last week I looked at Paul’s description. This week…
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Lesson 5: The Gospel According to Matthew
Read MORE: Lesson 5: The Gospel According to MatthewIf you only read Mark, you would think that the Gospel is primarily about God purifying his creation. That’s good news for people who unjustly suffer. However, from this perspective, it is easy to think God is a judge whose…
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Lesson 6: The Gospel According to Luke
Read MORE: Lesson 6: The Gospel According to LukeIf Matthew adds mercy to Mark’s power, Luke goes a step further and presents the Gospel as grace. Right from the beginning, the message is a gift to those regarded at the far end of God’s care. It is good…
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Lesson 7: The Gospel According to John
Read MORE: Lesson 7: The Gospel According to JohnRemember I am looking at the four gospels, one at a time. Doing that with John, you quickly see quite a difference from the other three. John offers intellectual reflection. If the others express Jesus’ oneness with God by proclaiming…
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Lesson 8: The Gospel
Read MORE: Lesson 8: The GospelThis one is late because I was caught off guard. I thought it would be easy to dash something off quickly, then I sent last week’s short essay to a list of people with a paragraph that included “Remember all…
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Lesson 9: More on Heaven
Read MORE: Lesson 9: More on HeavenI was surprised when last week’s diversion brought even more comments about heaven. After sharing them in conversation with friends, I‘ve decided this is a bigger issue than I thought. I was chided good-naturedly for not realizing there are plenty…
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Lesson 10: Community in the Gospel
Read MORE: Lesson 10: Community in the GospelLet’s get back to defining the Gospel in preparation for thinking about what a Gospel Community might be in our time and place. I started doing that by trying to identify the common features in the four gospels and Paul.…
Recent Comments
An extremely timely topic. Thanks, Fritz!
yes we need to forgive our leaders yet make sure they do the right thing – which they aren’t.