I love biographies. I read a lot of them because there is no better way to learn about life and ideas. In fact, I have come to believe that history is best understood through personal stories. While summations and generalizations may be useful at times, none of us actually lives in the general. For each [...]
Most of us carry the dream of the ideal place to live. I do. I would love to live in a historic house, refitted with modern amenities, on a quiet tree-lined street, with a great coffee shop and a serious used book store within walking distance. Build a second floor library with a big window [...]
Which of the following describes a human being? Exoskeleton or endoskeleton? An exoskeleton is held together by a hard external shell (like a crustacean), while an endoskeleton maintains its shape by an internal support structure (hidden bones). Human beings are obviously endoskeletons, hard bones wrapped with touchable skin. I have wondered before if the anatomy [...]
Here is my rendering of the opening scene of our scriptures: In the beginning God made everything: what could be seen (the earth) and what could not be seen (the heavens). And the earth was a chaotic mass of confusion. It was empty, filled with nothing. But the Spirit of God was right there, contemplating [...]
This past weekend we launched into our spring series Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: Colossians and the Suburban Dream. What we are attempting to do is to read a biblical text with care and attention (Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae), and apply what we see there to our present social context [...]
Easter has come and gone. How do you remember it? For me, the Easter celebrations at Westside continue to carry resonance. What a great weekend it was as Friday we looked intently into the meaning of Jesus’ death for us, and then on Sunday celebrated his resurrection and the life we now share in him. [...]
This is Holy Week. The Stations of the Cross are now open in our West Hall, Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 am to 9 pm, and Thursday 9 am to 5 pm. Our Good Friday service will be held this Friday at 10:10 am. Our Easter Sunday celebrations will be held this Sunday at the regular [...]
We are now making our way towards Easter and the central event that marks our salvation hope. As Christians we believe that it is through Good Friday and Easter Sunday that God accomplishes his central mission in Jesus. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves — he buries our sins, takes upon [...]
We are listening to the Kingdom parables of Jesus, listening to his view of life and the world, and asking “how will it end?” This is a series about ultimate destinies, but rooted in present conditions and realities. The kingdom of God comes, but has also begun. This past weekend we considered the story of [...]
No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re not hiding things; we’re bringing everything out into the open. [...]
The kingdom of God is always part mystery (it comes to us at odd angles and takes us by surprise), and always part practical action (there is something ordinary and at hand that we can do). Perhaps the first and most practical “kingdom” action we can take is to listen intently to the words and [...]
He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” [Matthew 13:52] We continue our series on Jesus’ parables with this piece to add: the kingdom of [...]
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