Across Church Street
Quaternity?
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me ⏤ John 5:39
We profess that God is one, in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But in our conversation, we can sound like the Bible is also divine. The Scriptures are God's message (Greek logos) to a called-out, chosen people. In them, God reveals himself and shows us how to live an eternal kind of life with him. They are a message, breathed by the message-Giver.
A Sacred Watch
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ⏤ Acts 20:28
First, govern yourselves. Overseers (leaders, supervisors, guards, helpers) carry a sacred responsibility. Elders are appointed by the Holy Spirit. They pastor precious souls redeemed by nothing less than Christ's blood. They care for God's family. What a humbling message. (By extension, could the same be said to parents, coaches, and employers?)
Baptized
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in (eis) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... — Matthew 28:19
And whoever welcomes one such child in (epi) my name welcomes me. — Matthew 18:5
When we are baptized, we are immersed, not just into water and fire, but into (Greek eis) God's name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Following baptism, we represent him in all that we say and do in (Greek epi) his name.
What we must not do is take (bear) God's name in vain, misuse his name.
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- poverty & mercy
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- imagination & creativity
- technology & AI
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.