We planted a vegetable garden in our back yard earlier this year. This is the second year we’ve done this. It isn’t a large garden, but we do have cucumbers, zucchinis, peas, beans, tomatoes, and pumpkins. So far this season, the cucumbers and zucchinis have been yielding the most, although the other vegetables are starting to come in. We planted …
Monthly Archives: July 2013
Have you ever thought about the fact that the Bible begins and ends with creation? It’s most obvious in Genesis 1, when God speaks forth His Word and creates everything, with His Spirit hovering over the surface of the waters, ordering the new creation according to the Father’s will. Then, in Revelation 21 we see, through the vision given to …
The Divine Service that the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod uses in worship has links all the way back to the early days of New Testament Christianity. The Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox rites have similar connections. Ultimately, liturgical churches worship in a manner that derives from the practices of the early New Testament Church. After Pentecost, the apostles and other …
A couple years ago (Nov. 2011) I had the opportunity to go to China for about a week for work. My itinerary was to spend a couple days in Shanghai, followed by a few days in Beijing, and then return home. I flew out there by myself, but then met up with a couple other guys from work (two Brits …
In March 2012, I had the opportunity to go to Russia for a week for work. In college, I had studied the Russian language for a couple of years and I have read a lot about Russian history and culture, so it was very exciting to finally get to go there! I was a little nervous before I went, because …
I bet you didn’t expect to see this topic on a Lutheran pastor’s blog. However, I was trying to explain to my wife the other night why Batman is the best superhero. I mean, I like Superman, Spiderman, and the others, but Batman is the best. In order to be Superman, you have to have been born on the planet …
This is a continuation of some interesting things about the early Church that you may not know. This post focuses on Christian witnesses to Jesus. 1. In the 90’s AD, Clement, bishop of Rome, wrote a letter to the church in Corinth Clement mentions the letters that the apostle Paul had previous written to the church in Corinth, urging …
This is a continuation of some interesting things about the early Church that you may not know. This post focuses on Jewish witnesses to Jesus. 1. Jewish rabbinic texts claim that Jesus practiced sorcery and magic The Jewish text of b. Sanhedrin says that Jesus was killed because he “practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.” Another text says …
Over the course of about 7 years I worked on a book called “On This Rock: What People Really Believed about Jesus Christ in the Early Church… and Why it Matters.” The reason it took so long was that I went back through a number of primary sources from the first few centuries of the New Testament Church, both …
Living in Georgia, Lutherans are somewhat rare. My wife was actually asked the questions in the subject of this post by one of her friends. In the Midwest, Lutherans are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. In the South, though, Lutherans are as rare as a sand-dollar. We tend to be viewed as different, maybe even odd (or, …