Life is a series of peaks and valleys, ups and downs, highs and lows. Following Jesus is a journey filled with twists and turns, green pastures and icy mountain passes. Sometimes the sun is shining, sometimes dark clouds cover the sky. Like everything else in life, being a Christian is difficult. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But some Christians think that the life of faith is supposed to be mostly easy and happy. Many have been taught that there are three categories to describe the Christian [...]

Christianity is very Jewish. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus’s first followers were Jews. Most of the members of the first churches were Jews. Most, if not all, of the Bible is written by Jews. The New Testament is littered with quotations and allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures. And many Christian practices are rooted in Jewish traditions (eg. the Lord’s Supper reflects the Passover meal, and baptism the ritual washings). The “Jewishness” of Christianity is undeniable. God decided to save the world through Jews. His plan began with one nation [...]

In a few weeks, we will resume our study of Luke’s Gospel, going up the mountain with the disciples to see the transfiguration of Jesus (9:28-36). This short story has been long neglected in the church. In the transfiguration, we find an intertextual tapestry that draws together the doctrines of our trinitarian God, Jesus’ two natures, and the Bible’s storyline (e.g. the exodus, Moses on Mount Sinai, and Elijah’s ministry). Many of us have not seen all the glory there is to see in the transfiguration. And yet the [...]