Adventures In Grace

Back in episode 5 and 6 of Adventures in Grace, we started doing a series on self-worth and significance that we never returned to. In this episode we return to this topic and talk about the Fear of Failure … or the Performance Trap. Click to Listen "Performance Trap" Show Notes In this episode, I […] The post #049 – The Performance Trap [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace .

Before we begin our next study, I wanted to talk about some of the recent happenings in my life. I also want to ask your help with the Podcast.  I would love to hear from you with a short survey to know what you have liked, and what topics you would like to hear in […] The post #048 – The Future of Adventures in Grace [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace .

This week we finish up our study on the Western Worldview by looking at the issues of rules, vices, and self. There's no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts. […] The post #047 – Rules, Vices, and Self in Western Worldview (Western Eyes Pt 5) [...

Before we end our studies on mindsets and spirituality, I ran across an interview with Brandon Obrien (one of the authors of the book).  In this episode, we listen to some of this interview. Next week, we will conclude our study on this topic and then move on to some new topics. Click to Listen […] The post #046 – Brandon Obrien Interview (Western Eyes Pt 4) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures...

Our second look at cultural influences on our faith deals with the issues of individuals & time. There's no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in other cultural and historical contexts. Click to Listen "Individuals […] The post #045 – Individuals & Time (Western Eyes Pt 3) [Podcast]...

Our first look at the "lens" which can distort our understanding of Scripture is religious traditions … particularly in the areas of mores, race, and language. There's no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind that lead us to read the Bible differently than Christians in […] The post #044 – Religious Traditions (Western Eyes Pt 2) [Podcast] appe...

Becoming aware of our cultural assumptions … or worldview … and how they influence our reading of Scripture are important first steps beyond the paralysis of self-doubt and toward a faithful reading and application of the Bible. There's no way around the fact that our cultural and historical contexts supply us with habits of mind […] The post #043 – Worldview (Western Eyes Pt 1) [Podcast] appeared...

I have a special treat for you this week. While I was researching for an upcoming series on the Song of Solomon, I came across a RARE message Malcolm gave that I don't believe is available for purchase today! This is not available anywhere! This is a very long message though. Just over one hour! In […] The post #042 – SPECIAL – Imagination Destination – Malcolm Smith [Podcast] appeared first on Ad...

In the final section of this concluding chapter, we consider the basic disciplines of Christian spirituality, the disciplines through which the church is nourished for this space-time-matter mission of justice, beauty, and evangelism.  These are themselves best understood in the context of the surprising hope, the hope that is rooted in Jesus's resurrection and that reaches […] The post #041 – Sur...

So how can we learn to live as wide-awake people, as Easter people? Here I have some bracing suggestions to make. I have come to believe that many churches simply throw Easter away year by year; and I want to plead that we rethink how we do it so as to help each other, as […] The post #040 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 15 – Future Now Pt 1) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace...

If today's, and tomorrow's, church is to engage in this kind of mission, seeking both to implement the achievement of Jesus and his resurrection and thereby to anticipate the final renewal of all things, it must itself be renewed, resourced, and reshaped for this mission. What will this look like?  What about missions historically in […] The post #039 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 14 – Mi...

Many people, faced with the challenge to work for God's kingdom in the present, will at once object. "Doesn't that sound," they will ask, "as though you're trying to build God's kingdom by your own efforts?" Well, if it does sound like that, I'm sorry. It wasn't meant like that. Perhaps some further clarification is […] The post #038 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 13 – Building for the Kin...

We have now reached the point where we must ask: So what? Is all this talk about God's ultimate future, about "life after life after death," simply a matter of tidying up our beliefs about what will happen in the very end, or does it have any practical consequences here and now? Is it simply […] The post #037 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 12 – Rethinking Salvation) [Podcast] appeared firs...

Before the sixteenth century most Western Christians thought of the church as divided into three parts. First there was the church triumphant, consisting of the saints, the holy souls, who had already arrived at the beatific vision of God. Officially they were still awaiting the final resurrection, but increasingly that wasn't emphasized, and in many […] The post #036 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. W...

As we saw in the first two chapters, there is no agreement in the church today about what happens to people when they die. Not surprisingly, therefore, there is also confusion in the wider, non-Christian world not only about the fate of the dead but also about what Christians are supposed to believe on the […] The post #035 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 10 – Bodily Resurrection) [Podcast]...

The second coming of Jesus … or better the "presencing" of Jesus physically back in our time/space … has greatly confused the modern church.  Two episodes ago, we sketched the big picture of cosmic redemption that the New Testament invites us to make our own. God will redeem the whole universe; Jesus' resurrection is the beginning […] The post #034 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 9 – Second...

Belief that Jesus of Nazareth has been raised from the dead is closely linked in the New Testament with the belief that he has been taken into heaven, where, in the words of the psalm, he has been seated at the right hand of God. In fact, some kind of belief in Jesus's ascension has […] The post #033 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 8 – Ascension) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Gr...

On this episode, we want to do another deep-dive into the issue of "resurrection."  I recently uncovered a rare-TV episode by N.T. Wright where he talks at length about resurrection. I play an edited version of this show in the podcast.  You can also watch the entire show in the links below. Click to Listen […] The post #032 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 7 – Resurrection Special) [Podcast...

The early Christians did not believe in progress. They did not think the world was getting better and better under its own steam—or even under the steady influence of God. They knew God had to do something fresh to put it to rights. But neither did they believe that the world was getting worse and worse […] The post #031 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 6 – New Creation) [Podcast] appeared f...

When we look at the contemporary world and church, we discover great confusion about future hope but that when we look at the early Christians, we find not just faith but a very precise and specific faith, both about Jesus and his resurrection and about the future life that God had promised to all his […] The post #030 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 5 – Optimism and Negativity) [Podcast] a...

If the disciples simply saw, or thought they saw, someone they took to be Jesus, that would not by itself have generated the stories we have. Everyone in the ancient world took it for granted that people sometimes had strange experiences involving encounters with the dead, particularly the recently dead. They knew at least as […] The post #029 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 4 – Resurrectio...

The ancient world—with the exception of the Jews—was adamant that dead people did not rise again; and the Jews did not believe that anyone had done so or that anyone would do so all by themselves in advance of the general resurrection. But the early church had a much different message. But even when we've […] The post #028 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 3 – Early Christian Hope in its Hist...

Not only is the world at large confused about death, but most in the Christian world as well.  There are many people "puzzled about Paradise."  What is "heaven" and isn't the "kingdom of heaven" just another way of saying the same thing?  What is this thing called "Paradise" and how has the Church so radically […] The post #027 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 2 – Puzzled About Paradise) [Po...

What are we waiting for? And what are we going to do about it in the meantime? What is the "blessed hope" for a Christian?  What is "heaven" all about, and is our hope simply a matter of "going to heaven when we die"?  Or is there something more than some of us have been […] The post #026 – Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright (Pt 1 – Intro) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace .

It is the covenant that fulfills the longing of God, granting men and women the gift of His life so that in this present time they live the life of the age to come. This gift makes them His children, giving them the unspeakable privilege of enjoying intimate friendship with Him. If the heart of […] The post #025 – Friend of God (Blood Covenant Pt 18) [Podcast] appeared first on Adventures in Grace...