Gateway Fellowship

Naivete: You'll never hurt me. Cynicism: Everyone will surely betray me. Wisdom: You and I are both fallible, but that doesn't mean we can't extend grace to each other and grow in fidelity, and trust according to demonstrated character.

We have people for a season.

Sometimes we learn lessons from life that Jesus didn't teach us. If we're not careful, we'll end up being motivated by something other than love...

What is healthy fear and what is not? Psalm 31:22 I had said in my alarm, "I am driven far from your sight." But you heard my supplications when I cried out to you for help. ( Psalm 31:21-22 NRSV )

Revelation 4:11 shows us that the first reason to worship God is simply that he created us and all things. This is just a little chat pointing out the abudnance, diversity and size of the bits of creation about which we are aware as legitimate reasons to feel awe and gratitude toward God.

Sometimes cut and paste misses the point.

A whiteboard conversation overview of all the death penalty texts of the Old Testament with a group conversation about the implications and my questions...

(Must, Ought, May) Christians have confused what is essential, what is wise, and what is permissible—and that confusion has consequences.

Talking about God is hard. The Bible has many layers. Faith isn't certainty. And other various ideas, like four traditional rabbinical ways of reading Scripture (Literal, hint, inquiry, secret).

This was our informal whiteboard Bible time.

Sometimes we stress too much as we try to figure out God's will for our life. That might be based partly on a misunderstanding...

A test of ultimate allegiance in Daniel 3.

This is about Nebuchadnezzar's bizarre dream (Daniel 2) that predicted the rise and fall of major world empires with accuracy.

I've loved Daniel 1:4 for years. This is a chat about what exactly Daniel and the other 3 were conscripted to do...

Psalm 148 invites the whole creation to praise God, top to bottom. This chat gets on a variety of little rabbit trails about angels, idols, and a dead squirrel.

Is it an encyclopedia of general knowledge revealed by God --- or is it something else entirely?

God revealed himself to pre-scientific peoeple. Advanced theology was communicated by ancient people. This demonstrates divine accommodation.

Psalm 137 1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept     when we remembered Zion. 2 There on the poplars     we hung our harps, 3 for there our captors asked us for songs,     our tormentors demanded songs of joy;     they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord     while in a foreign land?

Responding to God's invitation.

God isn't just operating in the world in "supernatural" events. He's WAY more involved than that. He's also working through the world in the most ordinary and natural things. But recognizing God's handiwork takes faith.

Here we briefly trace the theme of walking with God throughout the Bible and apply it to ourselves today.

Psalm 74, Isaiah 27, Job 41, Palm 104 all have Leviathan in common. This message includes a lot of ancient near eastern religious parallels that Israelites would have known. It ends with some thoughts on what at least some modern spiritual warfare might be like.

Genesis 1:26 raises so many fascinating questions. Let's explore some.

I spoke briefly about the inner witness of the Spirit and then interviewed Emily Hibbs about her trip to Brazil last week.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your f...