Vocation in Action

Perhaps one of the most significant gifts that Augustine bequeathed to the church was his insistence that the foundational problem of humanity is that we do not love (or desire) the right things. The fourth-century bishop of Hippo develops this anthropological insight in his On Christian Teaching, where he argues that in order for Christians rightly to interpret and teach the Scriptures and thus live flourishing and godly lives they must learn how to properly order their affections: [1] Now he is a man of just and holy life who forms an unprejudiced estimate of things, and keeps his affections also under strict control, so that he neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more, nor loves that less or more which ought to be loved equally. [2] In a catechetical treatise, Augustine makes a similar point—this time by discussing lo

Here are some notes to a talk I have given about the way in which solitude can be thought of as an act for community. Perhaps this will be helpful in our time of social distancing and isolation. May we take advantage of this time to be alone with the Lord. Time Alone for the Sake of Others Kelly Liebengood How do we build up one another? How do we become a community in which iron sharpens iron? Counterintuitively, we must be alone in order to be a blessing to our community.  A lesson from Bonhoeffer (“The Day Alone” in Life Together ) a.                    “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community. Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.” (p. 78) “The person who comes into a fellowship because he is running away from himself is misusing it for the sake of diversion... Let him who cannot be alone beware of communit y. He will only do harm to himself and to the community. Alone you stood before God when he called

An Overview of 1 Peter What’s Going On? Every New Testament letter has a back story; something was going on, some kind of problem, challenge, or opportunity had emerged in the community of Jesus followers that motivated the author to respond with a letter that would address the situation by pointing them to the gospel and its implications for their lives. When we pick up a letter like 1 Peter, one of our tasks is to understand as best we can the circumstances that compelled Peter to write.   First Peter provides us with a number of clues that give us a picture of what the readers were going through. It seems that the Christians living in what is now modern Turkey (1 Peter 1.1; see map) were suffering because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ (1.6; 2.12; 2.18-25; 3.16-17; 4.4; 4.12-19; 5.9).              What was the cause for their suffering? Some have suggested that the persecution was instigated by Nero or some other Roman emperor who made being a Christian illega

Psalm 116.1-4, 12-19 Acts 2.14a, 36-41 1 Peter 1.17-23 Luke 24.13-35 Let’s Get Ready for Normal Now If my math is right, it’s been seven weeks since we last gathered together; seven weeks of social distancing and isolation; seven weeks of having to learn a number of new habits, patterns of life, and skills, including how to mute and unmute your Zoom conversation! For some it has been seven weeks of watching your industry or profession shrivel or disintegrate; perhaps it has been seven weeks of wondering if you are ever going to get those opportunities or resources back; but maybe it has been seven weeks of much needed solitude; seven weeks of closeness to God that you haven’t enjoyed in a long time; maybe it has been seven weeks in which you have been able to have some margin in your life to  learn a new skill or acquire some new knowledge; seven weeks when you’ve been able to exercise like you’ve always wanted; or maybe it has been seven weeks of eating like your pr

A People of the New Exodus There is actually more texture to the story of 1 Peter 1.1-2.10 than first meets the eye. To appreciate this, we must recall the most important and foundational event in the Old Testament, the Exodus—in which God demonstrated His faithfulness and power by redeeming Israel from the grip of Pharaoh of Egypt. The Exodus story becomes the paradigm for a future restoration that will not only impact Israel but also the entire world. In a variety of ways, Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Micah, and Zechariah spoke of a day in which God will again redeem His people from exile and slavery and fulfill His covenant that He made to Abraham (Genesis 12.1-3), Moses (Exodus 19.1-6), and David (2 Samuel 7)—a covenant that was intended to bring peace and restoration to the whole world. In the first section of the letter (1.1-2.10), Peter describes what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf in terms of a New Exodus; and he characterizes the readers as