In this, the fifth and final, part of my lecture “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Paul, the Kingdom, and Living between the Times, I discuss the contagious faithfulness of Jesus which, as it is transmitted by the Holy Spirit, calls into existence a community of resistance to the regime of Sin and Death. This section contains some of the most obvious connections to the conference keynote addresses by David Fitch and his new book Faithful Presence. Continue reading “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 5)
“It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 4)
In Part 4 of my lecture “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Paul, the Kingdom, and Living between the Times, I continue to explore the plight of humanity in bondage. Standing behind the fallen principalities and powers are the cosmic slaveholders Sin and Death. Under the reign of Sin and Death, the powers often compete with one another seeking to enlist human beings and demanding that they sacrifice themselves and one another for the sake of ensuring the survival of the principality. Human beings are taken in by the various deceptive tactics of the powers and find themselves developing a type of perverse love or allegiance for the very forces that seek to hold them in bondage. For human beings in such a predicament, help can only come into the system from above. Continue reading “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 4)
“It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 3)
In the previous section of my lecture, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Paul, the Kingdom, and Living between the Times, I argued that the Gospel is the story of the God of Israel who is on mission to save the world that he has created and that he loves. This is apparent in Galatians 4:4-5, where Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children” (NRSV). This motif of a redemptive mission or liberating invasion suggests that humanity is, in some sense, in captivity. Continue reading “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 3)
“It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 2)
Below you’ll find the audio for the second part of my presentation – “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Paul, the Kingdom and Living between the Times – from the Kingdom Come conference held at Bayview Glen Alliance Church this past weekend. Having discussed the riddle of the apparent absence of the kingdom in Paul’s writings in the first part of the talk, in this section of the presentation I begin to consider the eschatological outlook at the heart of Paul’s theology. Continue reading “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 2)
“It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 1)
I had the privilege of participating this past weekend in a conference entitled, “Kingdom Come: Awakening to a Gospel-centred Life” at Bayview Glen Alliance Church in Toronto. Seeing so many people of varying ages and from all walks of life who were willing to give up a significant part of their weekend to reflect more seriously on what it means to live as God’s people today was itself a wonderful expression of the reality of the Kingdom. Noted pastor, theologian and author David Fitch challenged us over the course of three presentations to reflect more deeply on the questions: “What is the Gospel?” “When is the Kingdom?” and “How does the Kingdom Come?” Continue reading “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”: Audio Series (Part 1)
The Morning After
The following reflection was originally posted earlier today on the website of Amberlea Presbyterian Church.
I imagine that there are many bleary-eyed Americans arriving at their places of work this morning. I am simply an interested observer in Canada, yet I found myself up into the wee hours of the morning unable to pry myself away from the television coverage of the final stages of what has been an extremely divisive, and often ugly, presidential campaign. This morning there is extra spring in the steps of many our neighbours to the South who are elated with the surprising election results. Others, for whom the election did not go as planned, find themselves in a place of sheer despondency. While it’s understandable that the candidates and those who have worked so hard to support them would feel such emotions, I would suggest that this should not be the case for Christians. Continue reading The Morning After