"The Return of the King" book is released

The Great Falling Away

Emerging Mysticism

The Elements of the Gospel: Grace
This entry is part 12 of 11 in the series Pastoral Soteriology(This post is a continuation of the Pastoral Soteriology Series) Grace:  The Overriding Condition of Salvation Understanding the nature of the atonement expressed thus far – that Christ fulfilled the substitutionary blood atonement system of the Old Testament

Jesus: The Fulfillment of the Law
This entry is part 11 of 11 in the series Pastoral SoteriologyUnderstanding the substitutionary nature of Old Testament atonement is perhaps the single most important revelation concerning the work Christ accomplished on the cross on our behalf.  While such knowledge of the Old Testament system is certainly not a prerequisite for one’s salvation, it is the very foundation by which one may truly comprehend the work of the cross.  Jesus took great care to present the manner of his work as someth

Obama? Nobel Prize? Peace?
I have to admit that the last piece of news I expected to wake up to this morning was that Obama would be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.  This shock has nothing to do with my personal feelings for Obama, but rather with my obviously incorrect assumptions that the prize was actually somewhat difficult to win.  Clearly, nothing about this award could be hailed an actual “accomplishment” by Barack Obama. The first and most ridiculous indication of this fact is that Obama was president of the US only two weeks before the deadline for the nomination of this year’s prize.  It is my understanding that his accomplishments up to that moment were the consideration for hi

Rob Bell’s “Nooma 019 Open” – (Review)
I recently had the opportunity to view Rob Bell’s “Nooma 019 Open” video.  As I’ve taken several opportunities to write about Bell and his Emergent movement, it will come as no surprise that there is no love lost between myself and Bell’s movement (or Zondervan Publishers, for that matter, in so eagerly supporting it.)  Yet, I have determined to do my level-best at giving a fair and biblical review of this product which will reveal the very best and worst which this evolving “conversation” has to offer via Bell’s contribution of Nooma 019.  The first and most obvious impression of Nooma 019, as with all of Bell’s Nooma videos, is the exceptional p

Yom Kippur - The Foreshadowing of Christ
This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Pastoral Soteriology(This is a continuation of the series entitled, “A Pastoral Soteriology.”  It assumes the reading of eariler posts.) The culmination of the sacrificial system of atonement in the Old Testament Law was demonstrated and applied in the yearly observation of “Yom Kippur,” or, “The Day of Atonement.”  While the sacrificial system tirelessly went about its business of providing blood offerings – literall