Author: Fred Sanders
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Jesus Speaks for Himself
When Jesus Christ confronted Saul on the road to Damascus, he showed himself to be the greatest teacher, the ultimate rabbi. The ascended Christ is that teacher “than which none greater can be imagined.” He taught so much in so few words. Look at Acts 26:14: “It is hard for you to kick against the…
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Peaceful Coexistence
This golden banner signifies that cats and birds can live together in harmony. At the world-famous cat theme park Meowsyland, the cats all promised not to eat the birds, instead hosting the first annual Bird Tuesday.
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Saul Meets the Ultimate Rabbi
When Jesus Christ confronted Saul on the road to Damascus, he showed himself to be the greatest teacher, the ultimate rabbi. The ascended Christ is that teacher “than which none greater can be imagined.” He taught so much in so few words. Look at Acts 26:14: “It is hard for you to kick against the…
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Impossible Converts
Paul’s encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was unique, probably because of the unique ministry he was called to. We live in “the church age,” the age when Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father —the martyr Stephen in his dying vision looked up and saw…
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Jesus Keeps Working
Dead men do not keep working —but Jesus does. Dead men do not add anything to their list of accomplishments, but Jesus has extended his. The gospels end, and Jesus goes right on working. Choosing the apostles was something Jesus did very early in his ministry, but in Acts 26 we see him laying hold…
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Jesus Keeps Speaking
In the twenty-sixth chapter of the book of Acts, Paul makes his defense before king Agrippa. “Speak for yourself, Paul,” said king Agrippa. Paul was hardly the kind of person who needed a special invitation to speak for himself. He was outspoken by nature, and he’d been warming the bench in prison for a long…
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Knock Knock
Who’s there? Knight. Knight who? Knight who’s gesturing menacingly with a sword at the wooden drawbridge of your tiny stronghold with its shield decorations flanking a smoking torch with billowing smoke that drifts off toward the banner of my approaching army. Get it? Is that funny?
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Emphatic Evangelicalism
Christians have a lot to say, but to proclaim the gospel you can’t just say every Christian thing that comes to mind: you have to put the emphasis on something in particular. Protestant evangelicals stand in a great tradition of Christian faith and doctrine: we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses to the one…
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Jonathan Edwards Loves Spiders!
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is widely recognized as the greatest theologian America has yet produced. He wrote epochal books and preached sermons that still echo in our cultural memory from the Great Awakening. One of the least important things he ever wrote is a fun bit of juvenilia known as “The Spider Letter,” a descriptive essay…
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History, Schmistory: Let's Fight!
Freddy age 6 has crossed a line with adventure stories. Knights still dominate, of course, but now they are permitted to come into contact — and, as you can see here, into conflict — with vikings, as well as pirates, the police, and an occasional astronaut. “History” is a mental space where these characters jostle…
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Worship in Truth
“Devotional book” is not usually a term of approval, even among those of us who use them. “Devotionals” can connote fairly lightweight religious reading, a thought for the day, a little something that fits on one page and reminds you to keep the right attitude. But the Dutch Reformed pastor Andrew Murray wrote almost nothing…
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Against Abstract Providence
Every theologian who wants to think biblically has to believe in providence. Like it or not (and after all, why not like it?), the Bible is about a God who rules and governs world events, from geopolitical reversals to the fate of little birds. This God is not surprised by how things turn out, is…