One of the biggest problems we have in prayer is that we have horrifically bad practical theology. We pray as though we understand God to be a genie and ourselves to be his master. We present God a laundry list of stuff we want from him, then get annoyed if we don’t get what we […]
Thy Kingdom Come
June 30, 2016 By
The greatest theme of the teaching of Jesus was not love. Nor was it forgiveness. Not heaven. Not salvation. The central theme of Jesus’ teaching (and whatever comes in second isn’t even close) is the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God (or the kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel) occurs at least 81 times […]
Hallowed Be Thy Name
June 23, 2016 By
An athlete focused on things other than training isn’t going to be a very good athlete (at least not for too long). A musician who doesn’t devote her primary energies to practicing will never be a great musician. Devote the scraps and leftovers of your energies to your relationship with your spouse and you will […]
Our Father, Who Art In Heaven
May 19, 2016 By
One of the most astonishing features of the Lord’s Prayer is its beginning. There are many ways to call upon God: many titles, many names, many descriptors. But the model Jesus provides is a unique and remarkable pattern for addressing God. With an incredible economy of words, he challenges traditional notions of God, and highlights […]
Forgive us Our Debts and Trespasses
May 12, 2016 By
In our last post, we considered the variety found in praying the petition for forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgive us our…sins? debts? trespasses? Each of these forms of the petition has something to be said for them. But, let’s drill down a little bit into the two metaphors Jesus uses for sin: “debts” in […]
