sin – 300 words a day

Advent 11: Sinners

With that as the title, who is going to read this post? I wouldn’t. But I read in Luke 3 that “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.” And what came right before that? A whole long discussion of John telling people that […]

by Jon Swanson

shut up

My parents never let us say “shut up.” At one point in our history, one of us three would say “shut up…your mouth” as a way to avoid the inevitable look of disapproval. “Shut up” is pretty much what a crowd of people was saying to two men who couldn’t see. The men were by […]

by Jon Swanson

Serious business, relationship is.

After laying out the process of caring for people who have not done what he says, Jesus gives the implication: “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” There is a connection between here and there, between what we say and what God does. If we say, “you aren’t living right,” God says, “you […]

by Jon Swanson

inside and outside

The reason that outside isn’t so bad is that inside isn’t so good. When Jesus said that people who didn’t respond to three distinct, thoughtful, caring challenges to their behavior needed to leave the church, He was intending was that the threat of having to leave the warmth of community in the church would be […]

by Jon Swanson

telling it to the church

If you get miffed at your church today, there is another one down the street you can visit tomorrow. You don’t even have to go down the street. You can turn to your computer and participate in a church online. I am not against options. I have myself moved from one church to another more […]