[Part 2 of a blog adaptation of the October 28 message at The District Church: “Jubilee.”] After Acts 4–after the heady hope of the Jubilee community, after the generosity and selfless sacrifice of Barnabas–we move into chapter 5, and we run face-first into reality. Ananias and his wife Sapphira sell a piece of property, keep some …
[Part 1 of a blog adaptation of the October 28 message at The District Church: “Jubilee.” Read part 2 here.] In Leviticus 25, God decrees that, for the people of Israel, every fiftieth year is to be a year of Jubilee: liberty was to be proclaimed to all people; debts would be forgiven; land would be …
Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Two years ago on Halloween, I started my Leadership Residency at The District Church, not sure where the road would lead or what would happen, not sure whether or not I was even called to fulltime pastoral ministry. I guess God did, though; and one year ago today, I was ordained and began …
[The following is adapted from yesterday’s message at The District Church, “Learning How to Live Well.” Listen to the podcast here.] I want to point out three things, regarding Paul’s analogy of the fruit of the Spirit. 1. It’s not something we can acquire by simply trying harder. Throughout Galatians, Paul dismantles the idea that all God wants …
[The following is adapted from yesterday’s message at The District Church, “Learning How to Live Well.” Listen to the podcast here.] The life well lived is not an impossibility. Jesus says in John 10:10, “I came that they might have life, and life to the full.” The Greek word used for “life” here is zoë, …