Word of Life Church Podcast

Tell all the truth but tell it slant— Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind— –Emily Dickinson

"Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach." –The Return of the King

Jesus is the ladder uniting heaven and earth. He is the Son of Man and the heavenly man who unites the seen and unseen. He is the incarnate interface who makes it possible for the infinite grace of heaven to flood the finitude of earth.

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday is the enigmatic story of Abraham and his three mysterious guests while he was living in tents under the oaks of Mamre. It’s a story laden with theological implications…and tinged with a bit of humor.

The single best way to evaluate the practice of religion is to ask these two questions: Does it prioritize mercy over judgment? Does it make people more merciful? If yes, it’s life-giving religion; if no, it’s death-dealing religion.

We tend to forget about the Holy Spirit. It's helpful to understand the Holy Spirit in the context of the Trinity. To do so, often people reach for metaphors, but all metaphors fail at some point. As we work to understand God the Holy Spirit, it seems like the Spirit is a backseat member of the Trinity because Jesus gets so much attention. However, the Holy Spirit is a fully active member of the T...

In explaining the remarkable events of Pentecost, the apostle Peter said that this is what the prophet Joel foretold would happen in the last days, and that this is what would happen before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit ten days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves living between Pentecost and Parousia.

For Christians, a Christological interpretation of the Old Testament is far more important than the original authorial intent. The Apostles were so committed to making scripture about Christ and Christlike, that, if necessary, they would change words in the original text to make the meaning Christlike. They understood that the supreme revelation of God is the Word made flesh and that scripture mus...

Paul at the Areopagus, Hill of Ares, Mars Hill, War Hill, or we might say Paul at the Pentagon. What did Paul preach while quoting two pagan poets? He preached Jesus, the resurrection, the necessity of repentance, and the coming day of judgment.

Jesus begins his farewell discourse with these words: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God.” As we face the troubles of life with honesty, Jesus calls his church to live as an expression of resurrection—bringing hope in the midst of a troubled world.

Jesus reveals himself as a good shepherd who came to give us a rich and satisfying life. He said that he was not like the thieves and robbers who came before him, referring to false Messiahs like Simon of Perea, Athronges, and Judas the Galilliean. They came to steal, kill, and destroy. The good news is that Jesus is not the destroyer. Jesus is the savior! He has come to save you from that which w...

We are all born a long way from home. Home is not where we begin; home is where we need to go. More than ever we are searching for home. Strangely, the home for which we yearn is in another world. This other world, this unseen world, this spiritual world is commonly called heaven. Thus we live here, as Peter says, in exile.

"Peace be with you." This is the first the risen Christ says to his disciples, and he says it three times. Peace...Peace...Peace.

On Good Friday three women all named Mary stood near the cross of Jesus. What happened to them on Easter Sunday?

Among the Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion; among the mocking chief priests and the jeering crowd hurling insults; among the Passover pilgrims hurrying past the horrifying spectacle of crucifixion, there stood near the cross of Jesus three women all named Mary.

The raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb is Jesus’ greatest miracle. But it is also the sign in the Gospel of John with the greatest theological significance: The one who called Lazarus out of death will call us of death as well.

The light has come into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we have to be willing to leave our darkness and live in the shining light of Christ. If we want to stay asleep in our coffins we can—but the gospel calls us out of our sleep, out of death, out of darkness, and into the light.

Wars, revolutions, and grand political ambitions are often cast as heroic attempts to save the world. But let’s look at saving the world in the light of Christ. Our drama plays out, not on a battlefield, not in a capital city, not in the halls of congress or parliament, but at an ancient well in tiny village.

The third temptation was to avoid the cross. But the cross is how Jesus re-founds the world. Instead of being organized around an axis of power enforced by violence, at the cross Jesus reorganized the world around an axis of love expressed in forgiveness.

What Peter, James, and John saw in the Transfiguration of Christ was prophetically anticipated in what Moses saw in the Burning Bush.

To fully understand what Jesus says about fulfilling the Law and the Prophets at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, we first have to understand Isaiah’s prophecy of the ancient ruins restored.

The kind of Christianity Christ blesses is on that is in harmony with the Beatitudes.

Like the Phial of Galadriel that was a light in dark places when all other lights go out, we pay attention to Jesus as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the Morning Star arises in our hearts.

Four o'clock in the afternoon is just four o'clock in the afternoon…unless you encounter Jesus in some new and unexpected way. When that happens, that four o'clock in the afternoon will change your life. Divine encounters are real—and though they cannot be scheduled or manufactured, they should be expected. These divine encounters or mystical experiences need not occur at some sacred time on in so...

For people who are like broken reeds and smoldering wicks, the tenderness of Christ is good news.