I want to begin my introductory editorial comments with the expression of much gratitude to all my predecessors, especially the most immediate, Rev. Dr. Jin Hee Han whose calm yet compelling call to me to …
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by Donald L. Odom
Does Christian liberty suggest our freedom in Christ allows us to be passive concerning the least, last and the lost? What is our responsibility as Christians towards the disinherited and disenfranchised, and what does Christ’s love look like when we remain silent while others around us struggle? Christian liberty requires work within the Body of Christ to speak loudly and recurrently for the invisible and voiceless.
by Jill Schaeffer
This essay suggests how the works of two deeply faithful and creative men, born two centuries apart, may generate a single act of worship. Martin Luther’s commentary on The Lord’s Prayer is joined wordlessly with Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorale on The Lord’s Prayer in the Clavier-Übung, more commonly known as The German Organ Mass. Luther’s influence on Bach’s music was pervasive and indelible. This particular influence on Bach’s compositions is well timed with Reformation celebrations in the town of Eisenach in 1739.
by Douglas S. Stivison
The Protestant Reformation not only changed forever the course of Christian belief and worship, it also elevated respect for individual conscience and honest inquiry. To preach faithfully in a contemporary Protestant pulpit demands that we help our parishioners appreciate the priceless and revolutionary concept that is the foundation of Reformed worship – freedom of conscience.
by Daryl Bloodsaw
Marvin A. McMickle‘s latest book is required reading for today’s preachers and ministers in the church who oftentimes find themselves boxed in with nowhere to turn when discerning what to preach from Sunday to Sunday. He offers prescriptive approaches to flinging open the doors of our imagination by realizing that while there may be pressing issues in our churches that must be addressed, there are also local, national, and international issues begging for attention.
by Neal D. Presa
The subversive beauty that lurks in the human story, which gives witness to the power of the hidden Christ, who is real in our speaking and in our living can be seen in comparing the works of Shūsaku Endō, Makoto Fujimura, and Martin Scorsese.
by Darla Turlington
Quotations from the Bible and secular writings that pastors and others may find useful in sermons, essays, or other venues.
by Jin H. Han
The most important detail about a robed man nailing the Ninety-Five Theses on a church door is that the Reformation was not about starting a new church but about reclaiming what God had in mind for the world. Luther’s notion of liberty is grippingly captured in his treatise on Christian liberty (1520), in which a Christian is declared to be “subject to none.” It reiterates a call of the gospel for all believers so that we may all work together to battle injustice in our society in the name of the reign of God.
Subject to none but God, we are here only to serve God, and clearly the theme, liberty, binds us together.
by Cleotha Robertson
Occurring against the backdrop of King Ahaz’s reign from 732 to 715 BCE, Isa. 11 is the hopeful prophecy of a Davidic Ruler who will arise from the lineage of Jesse. This Davidic ruler will fear the Lord, practice justice, establish peace, slay the wicked, and restore the oppressed remnant of Judah and Israel. For the Body of Christ, this prophecy is and will be fulfilled in our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus!
by John W. Herbst
We live in an age of distrust, far from Isaiah’s ideal. Individually and collectively, people seek security. The church needs to promote Isaiah’s solutions to local and global disharmony: concentration on God’s ways and values, and the promotion of justice for all people, everywhere. It is only in knowledge and justice that our society will experience true shalom.
by Moddie Breland
This article defines eschatological hope and then differentiates between the meaning of “hope in” and “hope for” the coming peaceable kingdom. Hope in the peaceable kingdom is the active practice of Christian discipleship while hope for the peaceable kingdom is the passive anticipation of Christ’s return. First Thessalonians 4-5 was used to illustrate what eschatological hope entails.
by Albrecht Classen
Both Christine and St. Francis are deeply insightful, timeless, spiritual, and illuminating philosophers on peace and its universal meaning. We need only little translation to make both their teachings relevant today. The goals and ideas have not changed, but only the material and political framework.
by Jonathan A. Seitz
This personal theological essay reflects on the centennial of World War 1, asking how we make sense of a century that was horrifically violent even as the world is perhaps becoming less violent. It uses Luke 21 (which is sometimes used by missionaries) to gain perspective on the terror and promise of our times.
Title: Fish on Fire
Artist: Piety Choi
Size: 40"x40"
Mixed Media on Wooden Panel
This painting is based on the story at the end of the gospel of John in which the risen Christ came to his disciples on the morning of his resurrection and broiled the fish for them. To the wooden panel I attached the actual pieces of burnt burlap fabric and used acryl paint to reproduce a scene of broiling. While the Johannine passage is commonly understood as the risen Christ telling the world that he has risen and has returned to provide hope as well as hope-filled nourishment, I remember that fire also has the cleansing power of the fire of the Holy Spirit. According to other gospel traditions, Peter had denied Jesus three times. Jesus’ feeding of his disciples with the fish by the sea of Tiberias, however, has no trace of condemnation. In this scene, Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me?” Jesus then asked Peter to tend his sheep. Divine justice might call to mind fire as punishment, but I cherish the power of the Lord’s fire that cleanses our soul from the stains of sin. There I see the path to renewal and new life.
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