Shining Through Darkness: Jesus’ Active Light of Hope

In this uplifting message, we reflect on the profound symbolism of light during the dark winter months, especially around Christmas. The speaker emphasizes how physical darkness—such as power outages—can feel oppressive, but the lights of Christmas serve as a powerful reminder of hope, joy, and the presence of Christ, the true Light of the world. Drawing from Hebrews 1 and John 1, the message explores how Jesus actively sustains and upholds the universe with His powerful, directed light, bringing clarity and purpose amid spiritual darkness. The sermon encourages believers to recognize that Jesus’ light is active and sustaining, guiding us through life's challenges and inspiring us to share that light with others. As we approach the new year, the call is to live intentionally by spreading Christ’s hope, love, and salvation, actively shining His light in a world that desperately needs it. Resources and prayer opportunities are provided to help individuals deepen their faith and continue sharing the transformative power of Jesus’ light.

Shining Through Darkness: Jesus’ Active Light of Hope

In this uplifting message, we reflect on the profound symbolism of light during the dark winter months, especially around Christmas. The speaker emphasizes how physical darkness—such as power outages—can feel oppressive, but the lights of Christmas serve as a powerful reminder of hope, joy, and the presence of Christ, the true Light of the world. Drawing from Hebrews 1 and John 1, the message explores how Jesus actively sustains and upholds the universe with His powerful, directed light, bringing clarity and purpose amid spiritual darkness. The sermon encourages believers to recognize that Jesus’ light is active and sustaining, guiding us through life's challenges and inspiring us to share that light with others. As we approach the new year, the call is to live intentionally by spreading Christ’s hope, love, and salvation, actively shining His light in a world that desperately needs it. Resources and prayer opportunities are provided to help individuals deepen their faith and continue sharing the transformative power of Jesus’ light.

Shining Through Darkness: Jesus’ Active Light of Hope

In this uplifting message, we reflect on the profound symbolism of light during the dark winter months, especially around Christmas. The speaker emphasizes how physical darkness—such as power outages—can feel oppressive, but the lights of Christmas serve as a powerful reminder of hope, joy, and the presence of Christ, the true Light of the world. Drawing from Hebrews 1 and John 1, the message explores how Jesus actively sustains and upholds the universe with His powerful, directed light, bringing clarity and purpose amid spiritual darkness. The sermon encourages believers to recognize that Jesus’ light is active and sustaining, guiding us through life's challenges and inspiring us to share that light with others. As we approach the new year, the call is to live intentionally by spreading Christ’s hope, love, and salvation, actively shining His light in a world that desperately needs it. Resources and prayer opportunities are provided to help individuals deepen their faith and continue sharing the transformative power of Jesus’ light.

Shining Through Darkness: Jesus’ Active Light of Hope

In this uplifting message, we reflect on the profound symbolism of light during the dark winter months, especially around Christmas. The speaker emphasizes how physical darkness—such as power outages—can feel oppressive, but the lights of Christmas serve as a powerful reminder of hope, joy, and the presence of Christ, the true Light of the world. Drawing from Hebrews 1 and John 1, the message explores how Jesus actively sustains and upholds the universe with His powerful, directed light, bringing clarity and purpose amid spiritual darkness. The sermon encourages believers to recognize that Jesus’ light is active and sustaining, guiding us through life's challenges and inspiring us to share that light with others. As we approach the new year, the call is to live intentionally by spreading Christ’s hope, love, and salvation, actively shining His light in a world that desperately needs it. Resources and prayer opportunities are provided to help individuals deepen their faith and continue sharing the transformative power of Jesus’ light.

Introducing Zippy the Wonder Snail

Yes, it was inevitable: my partner-in-OFB-and-Bible-study-crime Jason and I are now podcasters. 🥳 Check out Episode 1 of Zippy the Wonder Snail at ZippytheWonderSnail.com. We talk on the Gospel of John, Taylor Swift’s Folklore, blogging and even NFT’s. It’s already available on Spotify, TuneIn and Amazon Music podcast directories; Apple’s Podcast Connect has been down for the week, so it isn’t there yet, but will be when it can be.

Blogging Goal

I decided after Christmas to see how many consecutive days I could blog. I find such goals are helpful, because they encourage me not to wait to blog until I have a perfectly refined idea. So far, I have posted every day since Christmas. Including, with this post, today.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my Verizon PR contact sent to me a Galaxy Nexus to review. We will have a complete review of the latest Nexus phone on OFB in the next few weeks. So far, I like the changes that have been made in Android 4.0. It feels more coherent than either Android 2.3 or Android 3.x.

Five Golden Rings

On the fifth day of Christmas, my Verizon PR contact sent to me a Galaxy Nexus to review. We will have a complete review of the latest Nexus phone on OFB in the next few weeks. So far, I like the changes that have been made in Android 4.0. It feels more coherent than either Android 2.3 or Android 3.x.

Back in the Blogging Seat

I've been meaning to get this blog back into gear and have some new subjects that I will want to sort through on here in the coming months. First and foremost, I am (much to my delight) serving as an adjunct this fall, teaching World Religions — I think that will provide me with plenty to mull over here.

The big question I am mulling over right now is this: is it truly possible to study the World Religions objectively? The question is difficult because I am not so sure our sense of what objectivity is with regards to such a subject is even real. Mitch Numark's insightful analysis of nineteenth century Scottish missionaries in Bombay published in May issue of the Journal of Asian Studies has been challenging me on that point this week. Maybe what we think of as the “objective study” of religions is merely the subjective viewpoint of post-Reformation, post-Enlightenment westerners. I'll be posting more on that subject in the near future.

Meanwhile, my fellow theo-blogger Travis McMaken blogged yesterday on just how small the world is. Travis stopped by asisaid back when I was first starting seminary in 2007 and interacted with one of my posts on Karl Barth. Since then, I've regularly read his excellent theo-blog, Der Evangelische Theologe. Earlier this summer, I learned that Travis had been hired as an assistant religion professor in my alma mater's Religion department. When I found out, I wrote him to welcome him to St. Louis and we discussed meeting sometime after he arrived.

As it so happens, a month or so later, I received the exciting news that I was being brought on as an adjunct in the same department. With the semester kicked off this past week, Travis and I finally met in the cafeteria. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to further discussions with him in the coming months of the fall semester.

Scrapbook

My friend Caedmon and I have been reminiscing by discussing old entries from this blog and the ensuing conversations. The interesting thing about blogging over the long term is that a blog becomes a lot more than merely a collection of words I have issued forth to attract dust in the eternal bit bucket — they form links to conversations, friendships and life in general.

As I flipped through some of my old posts the last few days, I was reminded of fascinating conversations with my blogosphere friends that helped shape my thinking. I saw comments from old friends who quit blogging and have seemingly disappeared. Some of the posts were bittersweet to recall the circumstances behind their posting. Others were just simply fascinating. Still other posts are annoying for how wrongheaded they seem to me today.

In all, though, I think they show how blogging at least has the potential to paint a fascinating picture of one's life. Not because I have anything especially profound to say, but because blog posts generally are (and should be, I think) written in community, and thus they resemble a photo album or scrapbook.