Recently, I have been reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book was published in 1937 in Munich, Germany. The church had to a large degree lapsed into a doctrinal pride based on Luther’s view that justification occurs by faith alone apart from any works. Bonhoeffer writes with passion and confronts this luke-warm mentality. Though he confronted his fellow countryman in an effort to bring revival to the church, sadly, Bonhoeffer failed, and the church was whisked off her feet by a zealous new leader–Adolf Hitler. As time went on the church became more and more afraid of opposing the Nazi regime and Bonhoeffer and a few others eventually broke away forming “The Confessing Church” which opposed Nazism publicly. I find his words surprisingly relevant to the state of Christianity today.
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Here is the incredible story of a 92 year-old woman of faith who preached to her mugger in a Walmart parking lot. He had gotten into her car just before she started it to drive home and demanded that she give him all of her money. She told him no and instead preached to him.
Here is something very powerful that impressed itself upon me recently.
I found this prayer by Kaj Munk in the book The Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Whether or not you agree with the contents or even think the book is a worthwhile read, I think everybody needs to see and/or hear this.
Kaj Munk was a Danish Lutheran pastor who was vehemently against both the regimes of Hitler and Mussolini and was eventually martyred during World War 2. This is a prayer or his.
My name’s Kyle and I was recently asked to do the writings for Fridays here on KingdomReady.org. I hope that we can learn from each other.
A couple of weeks ago I was sitting down wondering what I was going to teach at the church that I am currently interning at when one of my favorite songs by the band mewithoutyou (yes, all one word–you should check them out if you ever get a chance) called “A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains.” The words are good, very poetic and hard to understand, but that one sentence struck me as something extremely profound and thought provoking. I had been thinking about preaching on one of eight woes, in particular the one about the cup, and I remembered that wasn’t the only time Jesus had talked about cups and their contents.
The following sermon was preached last Sunday by Victor Gluckin at Living Faith Christian Church. The message cut “Churchianity” from true Christianity like a knife. Following Jesus is more than just attending a meeting an hour a week. It is more than just mentally assenting to a list of doctrines. It is more than having an emotional experience during the worship songs. It is more than mere behavior modification. We need to “be Jesus” in the easy situations but also when it is unpopular, awkward, or dangerous. Click the play button below to watch this rousing and timely presentation of true commitment to and identification with the Messiah.
Yesterday I cam across this website, which lists the school shootings that have occurred in recent history (it starts in 1996). Shockingly there are over 50 incidents listed. My question is, “What is going on here?” Why are students from 13 to 30 coming into their middle school, high school, or college and murdering their classmates? Am I to accept this as “normal?” Has this always been going on or is it just that now because of “sensationalist” media coverage it is being brought to our attention? Can something be done?
Last Friday, 42 year-old, homosexual, Christian, John Reaney was awarded £47,00 (approx. $92,000) for being denied the job as a youth worker for the Church of England based on his sexual orientation. The man had been approved for the job by an eight person panel and only needed the approval of the Bishop. However, after a two hour interview, Bishop Priddis came to understand that Reaney had just exited a five year same sex relationship. A few days after the interview Reaney received the call and learned that he had been turned down for the position. In response, and backed by the homosexual rights group “Stonewall,” Reaney sued the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance and won. Read the recent BBC article here or an older article from last year here.
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We all have various responsibilities in life. Some of us as: a husband, parent, fellowship coordinator, minister, etc I’ve been asked, questioned, and sometimes even challenged regarding my trustworthiness. I’ve recently begun to contemplate this idea of trustworthiness (in myself and my expectations of it from others) and to that end I have more questions than answers!
For example, in Micah 7.5 I’m instructed “Do not trust in a neighbor; Do not have confidence in a friend. From her who lies in your bosom guard your lips”. And Psalm 146.3 “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.”. Thankfully I know from Proverbs 3.5,6 that I can “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”.
“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
What comes to mind is how offensive the gospel, and the commandments of God and his Messiah are. How offensive is it to say that there can only be one right way? There is a huge gay-rights movement in America today; try telling one of them that their sexuality is a sin against God. That’s being intolerant of other people’s life styles.
“In effect, the law denies that there is any such thing as one’s biologically determined “gender,” any such thing as “male” or “female.” For the purposes of the law, you are whatever sex you say you are—and your claim, no matter how preposterous, must be treated as reality by school authorities.”
“The possibilities here are endless—Bible clubs, any activity, text, or teaching that portrays traditional families in a positive light, etc., could easily be argued to be either discriminatory because they ‘privilege heteronormativity’ or tend to foster a discriminatory bias against any group included in the definitions of ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender,’” Shortt said….”
Recently, I have been reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book was published in 1937 in Munich, Germany. The church had to a large degree lapsed into a doctrinal pride based on Luther’s view that justification occurs by faith alone apart from any works. Bonhoeffer writes with passion and confronts this luke-warm mentality. Though he confronted his fellow countryman in an effort to bring revival to the church, sadly, Bonhoeffer failed, and the church was whisked off her feet by a zealous new leader–Adolf Hitler. As time went on the church became more and more afraid of opposing the Nazi regime and Bonhoeffer and a few others eventually broke away forming “The Confessing Church” which opposed Nazism publicly. I find his words surprisingly relevant to the state of Christianity today.
Yesterday I cam across 
Last Friday, 42 year-old, homosexual, Christian, John Reaney was awarded £47,00 (approx. $92,000) for being denied the job as a youth worker for the Church of England based on his sexual orientation. The man had been approved for the job by an eight person panel and only needed the approval of the Bishop. However, after a two hour interview, Bishop Priddis came to understand that Reaney had just exited a five year same sex relationship. A few days after the interview Reaney received the call and learned that he had been turned down for the position. In response, and backed by the homosexual rights group “Stonewall,” Reaney sued the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance and won. Read the recent BBC article