Monthly Archives: January 2020

In-Sight: We Never Get There First

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Steve Harper

​Paul’s visit to Athens (Acts 17:16-34) is insightful with respect to evangelism and missiology.  Today, I want to highlight only one insight—that we never get there first.  God is always ahead of us, present in people and places before we … Continue reading →

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Love: Parent Love

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Steve Harper

I am comfortable with using “Father” in describing the first person of the Trinity, and that’s because I had a great dad.  But I recognize many are not comfortable with “father” language, and I respect that.  Some are uncomfortable because … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Mastery or Mystery?

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Steve Harper

​The longer I explore a theology of human sexuality, the more I realize that the differences we hold regarding it are produced by something larger than the topic itself.  With respect to anything, we are directed to a great extent … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: On Point

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Steve Harper

​If I were a pastor, I would make youth ministry the cutting edge of my church’s mission.  There are a number of reasons why I would do this.  I write today only about one, and it is a reason fueled … Continue reading →

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Love: Trinitarian Love

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Steve Harper

​For much of my Christian life, the Holy Trinity has been simultaneously a central doctrine and a marginal attraction.  I would never hesitate to say, “I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” but either out loud or to … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Dreaming

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Steve Harper

​For the first time in our nation’s history, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls in the midst of a presidential impeachment/trial process. [1]. The juxtaposition of these two things shapes my thinking as we observe MLK Jr Day today. On … Continue reading →

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Love: Amazing Love

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Steve Harper

Every language has a word or words for love.  The biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek are no exception. The two main words are hesed and agapé.  [1]  In both words, love reaches its apex as “love for the sake … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: What’s Going On?

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Steve Harper

We are living through an intense time of polarization, with resulting fragmentations of all sorts and sizes.  Every day adds new impetus for asking, “What’s going on?”  The depth and breadth of our conflicts makes a blanket answer impossible.  I … Continue reading →

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Love: God is Love

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Steve Harper

Three words sum up the essence of everything: God is love.  They not only tell us who God is, but also who we are, and who/what everyone and everything else is.  At the creation level of cosmos and cells, love … Continue reading →

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In-Sight: Incarnation

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Steve Harper

​Having recently celebrated Christmas, the Incarnation has been front-and-center in our faith.  In the birth of Jesus, the Word became flesh, and lived a while on the earth full of grace and truth (John 1:14).  The coming of the pre-incarnate, … Continue reading →

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