Word of Life Church Podcast

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Enlightened By Jesus Dec 28, 2014

Show notes

One of the boldest claims a Christian can make is that Jesus is the light of the world. Christians don't mean this as a cheap religious cliche or as a bit of bumper sticker evangelism. There's nothing tame or docile about asserting that Jesus is the light of the world. It's the audacious claim that all of history and all humanity are informed and interpreted by the light that comes from the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Greatest Wonder of All Dec 22, 2014

Show notes

"All the kitsch to be found in Christian life and Christian art arises from a failure to take the Incarnation seriously." -Hans Urs von Balthasar
(kitsch: mass produced art in poor taste; often characterized by an excessive sentimentality)
If we think of Christmas as God donning a human costume to playact as a person, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus being born just so he can grow up and can die for our sins, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. If we think of Jesus as Superman flying around being God all over the place, we treat the Incarnation as kitsch. And if we have a kitschy view of the Incarnation, we will have a kitschy and cartoonish, cheap, and sentimental Christian life. But if we can approach the mystery of the Incarnation as the greatest wonder of all, we can find the door to the substantive faith that is the object of our deepest longing.

Further Up and Further In Dec 19, 2014

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What C.S. Lewis told us about Aslan, is true about Jesus: He's not tame or safe, but he is very good. Once we find out that Jesus will be good to whoever he wants to be good to—regardless of race, religion, nationality, politics, or whatever—that’s when we discover that Jesus is neither tame nor safe…he’s just good. Very good! But we’ll never know these things if we stay in the cramped little confines of our assumptions and certitude. We’ll only know these beautiful things if we heed the call to come further up and further in.

Mary's Song (A Revolutionary Carol) Dec 14, 2014

Show notes

If we learn the lesson of Mary's Song we make this revolutionary discovery: Jesus isn't going to meet us in the penthouse of our prosperity, but in the garbage dump of our pain and poverty.

A Way In The Desert Dec 07, 2014

Show notes

The arrival of Messiah was announced as Isaiah's prophecy that God would come to his people on a highway in the desert. John the Baptist preached in the desert and Jesus first appeared publicly as Messiah in that desert. That's the way it was and that's the way it is. It's from your spiritual desert that God comes to you in a new way. Your spiritual desert isn't bad news, it's good news. This is the lesson and hope of Advent. Because this is the announcement of Advent: Your God is coming!

The Risk of God Dec 05, 2014

Show notes

God is not the cozy cabin of a Thomas Kinkade painting. To get involved with God is to invite great risk -- it's to risk the fiery furnace and the lions' den. Think of the most notable characters in Scripture: Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Mary, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, and most of all, Jesus. Which one of them played it safe? Not a one! To get involved with God is to risk misunderstanding, rejection, failure, suffering, and even death. Christendom was an attempt to invent a risk-free Christianity. But removing all risk makes Christianity incomprehensible. To risk too little, is to risk too much.

Wake Up! Nov 30, 2014

Show notes

During the season of Advent we address the past, the present, and the future all at once. Looking to the past we recall the yearning of ancient Israel for the coming of their long awaited Messiah. Looking to the future we confess that Christ shall come again to judge the living and the dead. But living in the present we look for the appearing of Christ in our everyday lives. To do this we have to wake up. We have to shake off the sedation of certitude, civil religion, and consumerism and awake to the reality of Christ!

The City of The Lamb Nov 23, 2014

Show notes

The final eschatological vision in the Book of Revelation is the answer to our constant prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In the final two chapters of Revelation we are shown a vision of the arrival on earth of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, the city of the Lamb.

Climbing Into The Story Nov 21, 2014

Show notes

The gospel is the story of Jesus. It's not a plan for going to heaven or a formula for forgiveness; it's not a set of spiritual laws for life or God's principles for success. The gospel is the story of Jesus. To climb into the story of Jesus is to encounter salvation. This is what Zacchaeus did. This is what we need to do.

The War of the Lamb Nov 16, 2014

Show notes

The final triumph of Christ over beastly empire and its ways and means of death is described in the Book of Revelation as the war of the Lamb. Jesus doesn't become a righteous beast to conquer evil beasts -- Jesus conquers the beasts of empire as a slain and risen Lamb. This is the kind of war that is depicted in Revelation 19 with the white horse rider called the Word of God who wears a robe drenched in his own blood and wages a righteous war with a sword in his mouth. This is the way of the Lamb. This is the war of the Lamb.

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