One Purpose of the Psalms

One purpose of the Psalms is to liberate us from the lie that says we, as people of faith, can never ask God the tough questions. The truth is that faith-filled prayer isn’t characterized by ignoring the reality of our pains, fears, questions, and doubts. On the contrary, true faith acknowledges them and pours them…

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Another Good Resource on Revelation

In my last post, I mentioned Michael Gorman’s Reading Revelation Responsibly. That book is definitely one you need to own. Another book on Revelation that I highly recommend is J. Nelson Kraybill’s Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it left…

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Quote: Epistle to Diognetus

In the Halsted house, we like to read. A lot. We especially value reading out loud to our kids. Whether it’s the Bible or Lewis or whatever, there’s something about hearing the spoken word that is so captivating—and relaxing, especially at the end of the day (the Bible is the best book to read out…

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Money, Money, Money

I have been thinking a lot about money and it’s relationship to society in general and to Christians in particular. I’m not sure we think about (and question!) many of our assumptions about this relationship as much as we perhaps should. At any rate, here are a few quick thoughts… Our relationship to money often…

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A Prayer for the Church

From the Book of Common Prayer: Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill itwith all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it isamiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is inwant,…

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Video Resource on the Book of Psalms

Years ago, I remember having a conversation with my grandma. We were talking about scripture and our favorite passages. In the course of that conversation, she made the comment, “There is a lot of comfort to be found in the Psalms.” I was just a young chap when we had this conversation, and since then,…

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Why Should We Give Thanks?

Here is another installment of Practical Theology, an ongoing series of videos that addresses common questions and topics. Because it is Thanksgiving this week, we thought we would chat about what it means to give thanks. What are we really doing when we give thanks to God? What are we really doing when we fail…

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Do You Doubt God?

I have long considered Jeremiah 20 to be one of the most transparent passages in all of Scripture. It is a chapter that contains the heart and soul of the prophet’s true self. Having been physically beaten by the priest Pashur and subsequently jailed, Jeremiah utters a prayer to God that is full of doubt…

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The Gospel of Caesar?

Christians are familiar with terms like god, savior, and gospel. They are part of our liturgical lingo. We use them in every Sunday service to refer to the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. But what Christians may not know is that these terms were part of the stock vocabulary of pagans living in…

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“Before your face questions die away”

If you need a good book to read (not least in light of our curious times), I recommend C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. It’s a risky little book on many fronts. Lewis offers a multi-layered invitation that, among other things, bids us to see the unseen, to embrace true love, and…

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