Buzz King: Grace & Joy thru Scripture

Wendy and I recently visited the "Cave Church" of Cairo, the St. Simon Monastery, where the great recyclers, the so-called "Garbage People" of Cairo practice their faith.  We saw a vibrancy there, a joy, and a deep love for God in these incredibly hard-working, welcoming, and devoted believers.  The children in particular were truly amazing.  It is an intensity that we desperately need in our churches in the United States.

In most Bible translations, there are two words that are translated from the Greek to English as the word "gift", dorea and charisma.  We see that the second word means much more that simply something given without obligation or payment.  We see that when we believe were are given not just gifts from God, but charismata, and these empower us to live deeply spiritual lives and empower others to do the same.

We consider the ways in which a believer lives their life guided by God: first, with the training that we receive with Scripture, prayer, and Christian training, and second, with the occasional instruction of the Holy Spirit.  We look at just how we can learn to encourage and embrace, and be inspired by, the Holy Spirit when we are at a point in our lives when we must make a decision on how to proceed in life.

We take a second look at the miracles of Jesus, this time from the perspective of the Gospel of John.  We see that he does not call them "deeds of power", as the other Gospel writers do, but rather as "signs".  This tells us John's focus on the miracles - as signs that teach us theological truths about the Kingdom of God and the Messiah, Jesus.

We look at the miracles of Jesus, as they are described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  We see that these "deeds of power", as these three Gospels call them, show that Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament - by carrying on with the miracle tradition of the Old Testament.  We also look at the question of the reality of the miracles.  Are they true?  Were they added after the fact by people born long after the death of Jesus, by people who were attempting to take the biblical story and use it to deify Jesus?

We look at the Genesis story of creation: many call it a useless myth, and say that we need to focus on the real, scientific way in which we came into existence.  We see that there is tremendous truth in the Creation Story, and that in it we see the most critical facts about why we exist and what we are meant to do on this planet.  We discover that the myth is truth.

In the previous podcast, we looked at the parables of Jesus - and we look at them again, this time, with a focus on how Jesus preached using parables.  Perhaps because he knew that of all oral traditions due to him, the parable stories would be most remembered, Jesus used them to teach us about the Kingdom of God.  They are his summary statements, telling us what is most important to remember about his ministry.

The miracles of Jesus establish Jesus as the Messiah.  They speak to his authority.  They also show Jesus being deeply humane.  But they have another, more important purpose, and that is to teach us about the Kingdom.  We look at the parables and what they mean to us as modern believers.

We look at a very practical question: how to strengthen your connection to God, how to make God a tangible presence in your daily life.  We look at seven specific suggestions on how to do this.  The goal is to introduce easily accomplished, daily practices that will make your faith more real, give you a powerful sense of calm, and lead you to a joyous life on Earth in the Kingdom of God.

We all have an appointment with death, and God will not cancel or postpone that reservation that has been made for each of us.  How do we prepare for death as Christians?  Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that our bodies are like flimsy tents that will one day be replaced by "a house not made with hands", one that is "eternal in the heavens."  Can we accept the full reality of an eternal life?

Are the "spirit" (with a small s) of the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit of the New Testament the same being?  We look at this question, as well as the various ways that the Holy Spirit is described in the Bible.  Our goal is to determine just who the Holy Spirit is - and more importantly, what the Holy Spirit can do for us.

We look at social justice and the Bible: is taking up the cause of those who are marginalized simply a natural way of exercising our Christian love for others?  Or is there something in the Bible that gives us a clearer mandate to take up social justice - or admit that we are not at all followers of Christ?  We look at the Old and the New Testaments, and we discover just what the Bible says.  The results might surprise some, especially when it comes to comparing the two Testaments.
 

Modern TV preachers often want Christianity to sound like a lifetime in Disneyland.  Follow Jesus and life will be a self-indulgent pleasure ride.  But one of the greatest - and perhaps the absolute greatest - teachings of Christianity is rather negative.  Jesus said: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me."  We must be willing to live by that command.  We look at what this means in the daily life of a committed Christian.

We look at angels in the Bible, who they are and what purpose they serve - and at the non-biblical notion of a "guardian angel".  What is the basis for this widespread belief, that we each have an angel watching over us, guiding and protecting us as we move through life on Earth?  Just as an angel came to strengthen Jesus on the Mount of Olives as he was accepting the horror that was going to befall him, we, too can turn to this host of Heavenly beings.  

Attending church is a public experience: but attending church should be a personal experience, as well.  We look at the use of the Greek word "worship" in the New Testament, and this word, "proskuneo" is always used in the context of the state of mind and the responsibilities of individuals, and not on the collective nature of worship.  We consider how church can be a truly individual and inspiring experience.