But I'd like to offer a better response, the way of discipleship, where we follow Jesus into his crucifixion and death so that we might die to sin and walk in the newness of life without the fear of death.
Jesus make this possible through his resurrection.
#Resurrection
#ResurrectionLife
When faced with their own mortality and the relative shortness of life, people tend to go the way of:
1) Denial (ignoring reality)
2) Debauchery (let's paaarty!)
3) Discipline (unhealthy asceticism)
“The Bible speaks with one voice of God coming to live with humans. Of God coming to be at home with us humans…The overarching story assumed in the New Testament is not about humans going to be with God, but about God coming to be with humans.” - N.T. Wright
TO MY FELLOW LORD OF THE RINGS NERDS
I have started a short mini series on my podcast exploring Middle Earth. The first episode dropped today.
Go check it out!
open.spotify.com/episode/4hl3...
I am simply a follower of Jesus who taught us the ways of peace.
I sum up my critique of just war theory by saying: If God has put the sword in the hands of ruling authorities then we should echo the words of Jesus to Peter saying, “Put away the sword.”
#LearnWarNoMore
12 years ago I wrote an essay “Questioning the Just War Assumption.” In it I explained my evolving understanding of war and the Christian position related to warfare. I am neither a just war theorist nor am I a pacifist.
✨ THE MERCH STORE IS LIVE! ✨
For all those who love peace & pray for peace, let's advocate for the nations of the world to learn war no more.
"And nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." - Isa. 2:4
derek-vreeland-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/...
Just in case you forgot…
Causing the death of an entire civilization is not a Christian value.
#LearnWarNoMore
You can join ONLINE 💻 or IN-PERSON 🙌 at Word of Life Church.
🗓️ Online beginning tomorrow, Tuesday April 7 at 7PM CT on Zoom
🗓️ In-Person beginning Wednesday April 8 at either 1PM or 6:30PM in the Life Center
Register for any of these groups at wolc.com/events. 🔗
#Easter #Resurrection #BibleStudy
Christ is risen! ✝️
This week I'm beginning an eight-week study of the Resurrection of Jesus using my new Bible study Resurrection: 8 Lessons on How God Restores Us. 📖✨
This Bible study uses the uniqueness of The Message translation to explore the depths of Jesus' resurrection.
LEARN WAR NO MORE
#MastersofWar
#peace
#peacemakers
Giving your life to Jesus > asking Jesus into your heart
One is allegiance to King Jesus, living according to the values of his kingdom.
The other is oriented around the self, casting Jesus in a one-act play called “Me.”
#FollowingJesus
I have written a 5 Day Devotional for Holy Week based on my Crucifixion Bible Study.
It is available as a reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app and at bible.com/en/reading-plans/68981
#HolyWeek
#Crucifixion
#Godintheneighborhood
To my fellow forthright straight-shooters and honest truth-tellers…
Do your thing.
Just do it slant.
#poetry
#emilydickinson
#truth
🚨 YOU ASKED FOR IT and now it is here! 🚨
The Daily Office Lectionary is now available in a spiral bound edition. 🎉
This version is published exclusively by TheBookPatch [dot] com.
app.thebookpatch.com/BookStore/da...
Our ethical values don't come from this present evil age, but from the age to come.
We live according to the light, not the darkness.
#EschatologyMatters
Ethics follow eschatology.
For followers of Jesus, God’s future new creation is a present reality, so it shapes how we live today.
Think of God's future work of making all things new like light that shines in our present darkness.
I enjoyed this conversation with the Navigators about my new Bible study on the resurrection that releases tomorrow!
www.navigators.org/blog/how-the...
Do the good you wish to see in yourself.
Before the influence of the religious right and the MAGA movement, our Pentecostal brothers and sisters were prophesying.
This is a prophetic word for us today, if you have ears to hear.
Just found out that my Bible Studies are now available on the Logos Bible App! Woohoo!
Can anyone with a Logos account verify this?
#GodintheNeighborhood
Throughout the LOTR, Frodo grows in the ability to have mercy and show pity for his enemies, first Gollum and then Saruman.
Enemy-love is perhaps one of the most challenging and counter-intuitive teachings of Jesus. But if Frodo can learn it, then maybe we can too.
#lotr
Preached tonight to students in our youth group. What a great group of teenagers! Talked about loving God with everything—heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Love is something we do. It’s active; it’s an action. Loving God is not just an idea, not a feeling. It is something we do.
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” - Mark 12:30 NLT
Love is WHAT we do.
Heart, soul, mind, and strength is HOW we do.
#LoveGod
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” - 1 Corinthians 2:2 NRSV
#AshWednesday
The practices of Ash Wednesday and Lent are not prescribed in Scripture. They are rhythms passed down to us through tradition.
Heeding the collected wisdom found in tradition rescues us from the arrogance of thinking our generation has it all figured out.
#Lent #AshWednesday
Feast today my friends.
We have 6 1/2 weeks of fasting before us.
#Lent
🎉HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 🎉
I wrote Crucifixion using the uniqueness of The Message Bible for individuals or groups.
It explores the mystery of God joining us in death to defeat sin and death through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. ✝️
Go get it for the season of Lent!
Each lesson in my Crucifixion Bible Study has a companion teaching video. The videos are short, approximately 3-5 minutes.
derekvreeland.com/books/crucif...
#Crucifixion
#GodintheNeighborhood
And the winner is......Michael Zeedyk (@mizeedyk). Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!
You can order the Crucifixion Bible Study to use during the season of Lent. It releases tomorrow. You can also preorder Resurrection which will be out March 17.
Order here: derekvreeland.com/books/