When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes

01/20/26

19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.

Bradley Gray

01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

Steven Paulson

01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

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Bradley Gray

01/13/22

The Words That Fill the Halls of Our Churches

I write this as someone who’s genuinely concerned that American congregants are getting bamboozled by preachers who are giving them less than what they need Sunday after Sunday.

Ryan Stevenson-Cosgrove

01/12/22

Death and Rebirth in James McBride's Deacon King Kong

At its heart, this is what Deacon King Kong is all about: the paradox of Jesus carving his victory out of the last thing we expect, not our triumphs but our defeats.

Wade Johnston

01/10/22

Jesus' Baptism

You are not in debt to sin. You don’t owe it anything. There’s no reason for you to serve it.

Chad Bird

01/07/22

A Review of 'Figuring Resurrection' by Jeffrey Pulse

Viewing the Word as a unified theological narrative prevents us from treating the Scriptures like a cage match between competing theological systems, with prophets duking it out with apostles, and psalmists with evangelists, all supposedly fighting for their voice to be heard.

Dan Weber

01/02/22

Gospel: Luke 3:15-22 (The Baptism of Our Lord: Series C)

Not only does God reveal the identity of Jesus in this season through what we see and hear Jesus doing and saying, but God also reveals His gracious will through Jesus despite what we see and hear.

Travis Scholl

01/02/22

Epistle: Romans 6:1-11 (The Baptism of Our Lord: Series C)

Paul is thinking of the cross and empty tomb, but the liturgical calendar places us at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, not the end: Jesus standing waist deep in the Jordan River.

John Bombaro

12/17/21

Advent Three Times Over

The Advents of Christ (past, present, and future) elicit faith in the word of Christ, confirmed by his presence.

Bradley Gray

12/13/21

Nothing But the Blood

Your Christian faith is a bloody faith, and that ought not make you fearful or scared or embarrassed.

Haroldo Camacho

12/11/21

Don't You Know My Own Story?

He also took our own history and suffered all the agony and pain of our own lives.

Steven Paulson

12/03/21

Implications of the Incarnation: The Incarnation is New Creation

Each week during this year’s Advent series, we will take a look at a specific implication of Christ’s incarnation. This week, we will discover how God reaffirms the goodness of his creation by making all things new in the incarnation.

Chad Bird

11/22/21

From the Mark of Cain to Baptism

Throughout the Scriptures, God puts "signs" or "seals" upon people. Often these are placed upon the forehead. How do all these connected stories take us from the mark of Cain, to the Exodus, to the cross, and finally to baptism?

Ken Sundet Jones

11/15/21

The Beatitudes are Ridiculous

Look the judge in the eye and pin your sin on Jesus, the divine judge’s son. Jesus knows you can’t do it, so he trades places with you and pits himself against God’s righteous demands.

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