I just returned to Zagreb after what was supposed to be a week in the USA. On 25 June: Zagreb > Toronto (non-stop!) Toronto > Nashville But I was delayed getting out of Zagreb, because of mechanical problems with the plane.  I was supposed to have a long layover in Toronto; I PLANNED to have … Continue reading Travel Story

I left Zagreb Tuesday morning, flying to Nashville TN for a CECEF board meeting.  (CECEF = Central European Christian Education Foundation; this is the American board of directors and fundraising arm of Biblijski institut.) Travel drama: my flight was supposed to leave Zagreb at 10.15, but when I arrived the person at the Air Canada … Continue reading Travel Irritations

Between writing projects and travel, I cannot guarantee that I will post every day this week. I am in the last steps of editing a dissertation, and need to get that done today.  Tuesday, I fly from Zagreb to Nashville TN, then on to Lexington KY to spend time with family.  I have a meeting … Continue reading This Week …

Here is the preaching pdf for my sermon tomorrow, "God Blesses Us When We Worship": God blesses us when we worship him (John 12.1-11). This will be the first sermon in a series that takes us through the summer, although we have guest speakers etc., so the series will skip weeks here or there. This … Continue reading Sermon: God Blesses Us When We Worship

At Jesus Creed, RJS is reading a book on creation care from a pair of scholars, with academic pedigrees in biblical studies and biology.  The book looks like a must-read. I invite you to read the whole post (and its predecessor) at Jesus Creed.  Here is the money paragraph from the current post: The earth … Continue reading Creation Care

(This is in part an update of a post from February 2015.) Today, here is what Seth Godin has on his blog: Of course it could be better That’s not the question, not really. The question is, “what are you going to do about it?” And, to follow up, “what effort are you willing to … Continue reading Success, Improvement, and Making Excuses

The best thing I have ever read on the topic of the Bible and homosexuality is Richard Hays's essay, "Awaiting the Redemption of Our Bodies," published in Sojourners almost thirty years ago.  (This article became part of Hays's The Moral Vision of the New Testament.  Hays is one of the most important New Testament scholars working … Continue reading The Bible and the Gay Christian

Ok, so: here is the textbase of texts (now in the RSV) from Paul's letters.  I think this is every passage where he speaks of discipleship in terms of our minds/hearts/thoughts. The first group is passages that set the pattern I think I see: Romans 6.8-11 But if we have died with Christ, we believe … Continue reading Studying Paul and the Mind, Step 4

Ok, so I have surveyed all of the references (I think) to thinking, mind, heart, thoughts, etc., in Paul's letters. I am looking specifically for passages that deal with the mind and how thinking affects living, or how good/bad thinking goes with good/bad living.  I have found three general categories: Christians being “of the same … Continue reading Studying Paul and the Mind, Step 3