Inviting God Into My Constraints
This is a season of constraints. Remote learning at home. Social distancing. Celebrating holidays during a pandemic. Navigating a contentious election. This week, our kids were home for three days…
S3 E14 | The Astonishing Hope of a Mortal Life with J. Todd Billings
Mortality is often connected to fear, so how does embracing a mortal life provide hope to individuals and communities? Professor Todd Billings, author of “The End of the Christian Life:…
Faith Is Trusting in the End of the Story
How do we have faith that a good ending is coming? I know lots of people in pain right now. Some are in physical pain—my friend whose husband needs back…
Choosing to Be Present in Suffering
For people like me—for people who are white and live in affluence and stability—stories like that of George Floyd are easy to ignore. In the past, I have told myself…
COVID-19, Holy Week, and Preparing for Suffering with Love {Ep 104}
At dinner a few nights ago, we asked our kids if they have any questions for God during this time of COVID-19 and suffering. They all nodded. “Why would God…
Coronavirus, Suffering, and Two Questions About God
Suffering and death and events like our current experience with the coronavirus generally lead humans to ask at least two questions about God. Does God exist (because, how could God…
Reflections on Suffering… and Love
Last week, I spoke with a group of women about the age-old question of how a good God could allow acts of senseless terror and undeserved suffering in this world.…
Guest Sermon: Salem Covenant Church
The 4 Things John 5 teaches us about healing, which is to say, about God “Biblically speaking, health isn’t the absence of illness. Health isn’t the absence of anything. It…
The Difference between Hardship and Suffering, and Why It Matters
Recently I have been thinking about hardship and about suffering and how often we confuse the two and how that can get us into trouble. In almost any area…
