by the Editorial Team of The Living Pulpit

The story of cosmic and Earth evolution drawing on the latest scientific knowledge, in a way that makes it both relevant and moving. What emerges is an intensely poetic story, which evokes emotions of awe and excitement, fear and joy, belonging and responsibility.

by John W. Herbst

The most fundamental of Old Testament ideas is Yahweh as Creator. The concept of Yahweh as creator points obviously to God’s omnipotence and rightful place as ruler of the universe. For people of the Old Testament however, Yahweh’s role as creator implies the power to “recreate,” that is, to restore that which is barren and lifeless.

by Susanne Wigorts Yngvesson

A common belief among Christians is to imagine the creation of the world as an historical point at an end of a linear timeline; when God separated light from darkness and heaven from earth. The risk of describing creation as an historical point is to reduce it, to make it mechanical (cause and effect), as if everything was completed and perfect once upon a time and has to be restored.

by Jo David

The earliest chapters of Genesis struggle with the issue of how men and women were created and the nature of their relationship to one another. It is particularly interesting that, in Genesis 1, the almost universal idea that men are the “natural rulers” of the world is challenged in significant ways.

by Asayo O. Thomas

Each star and galaxy are evidence of God’s creation. God did not just create them, but has been nurturing them for billions of years. And new stars keep emerging into this universe almost every day.

by Brandt L. Montgomery

That grace can be found in the New Testament is an issue of no debate, for the fourth Gospel declares, “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17). But the assertion that there is grace throughout the Old Testament is one that still generates considerable debate within certain Christian communities and theological circles.

by Carmen Nanko-Fernández

One of the most profound Christian teachings is the incarnation. There is little development in the gospels of this audacious claim that the divine entered the human condition as one of us. John proclaims the Word became flesh and dwelled in our company and both synoptic gospels provide insights into the incarnation, establishing the humanity of Jesus from birth.

by Melvin Sensenig

Jeremiah 21:1–23:4 recounts a series of oracles against the last four kings in Israel. The canonical book’s reordering of the final four kings is important to the overall argument of the book about the future of the Davidic kingship. No future king can arise without the complete destruction of the current Davidic line.

by Jin H. Han

Many will recognize the question as a parody of Tertullian, De praescriptione haereticorum, chapter 7: “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?” So, to answer our question, we must first ask, “What does Jerusalem represent?”

by Jean-Pierre Ruiz

The author presents the point that John sets before his audience visions of two imagined cities, one the mighty city that was a distant presence looming large through its local surrogates in Asia, the other a holy city descended from above. He urges them to choose between them, to decide their allegiance. This decision is a matter of who is the proper object of worship: the emperor or the Christ. John positions his readers at the intersection of power and praise.

by Amos Yong

A pneumatological theology of preaching connects the past to the present through the biblical witness. Chronologically, we might say that we have three sets of events: those behind the biblical text; those constituting the scriptural witness; and those in front of the text, receptors of its legacy and message.

by Karla M. Kincannon

A midwife tells mothers that there are three things they need to know about labor. “It’s hard work, it hurts a lot, and you can do it.” That’s good advice for those on the Christian journey. The birth of the true self into the world requires effort and openness to God’s grace. We each have a true self, a deeper identity that lives in the heart of God and is united to God in Christ.