Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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James and John come before Jesus and request positions of honor in His coming Kingdom. While we may be surprised at their actions, we understand their desires. They are interested in upward mobility.
The fact of Jesus being the greatest of all priests in the greatest of all orders of priesthood, means Jesus is the consummate pastor for those in need of a powerful and availing shepherd.
Jesus takes the sins of man upon Himself and carries them to the cross to make our hearts holy and acceptable in the eyes of God.
There is joy in Lent, but it is the kind of joy that comes in being made whole.
Is it possible to take a cyber approach to the season of Lent? I do not think so.
Jesus enters this world’s darkness and brings us the life-giving power of God’s light.
The preacher of this text should follow the logic of the text, the divinely inspired genius of Saint Paul, and get out of the way.
When we look upon the cross, we see our sin. We also see the One who washes it away and gives life.
Trusting in Christ’s promise of new life and deliverance pours generosity and hospitality into the way we think and the way we experience life.
At times, our Church struggles with clutter which distracts us from what is most important: Listening to our Lord and gathering at His table where we are fed.
Christianity is not about principally about ethics. It was the Cross on the Hill rather than the Sermon on the Mount that produced the impact of Christianity upon the world.
While these are familiar words to us, frequently they are dealt with in ways that fail to take into account the context and the situation.