April 17, 2016
[Listen to the sermon here, from April 17, 2016] Shame. Guilt. Grief. I know those feelings. I’ve been overwhelmed by them at times. They have felt like a ton of bricks on my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. I’m feeling them now. Sitting with Jesus on the beach, eating the fish he grilled and the […]
11 Comments |
Biblical Texts | Tagged: Denial, Forgiveness, Jesus, John 21:15-19, Love, Peter, Recommissioning, Reconciliation |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
June 15, 2015
This is an amazing story. Even Jesus is amazed. It is amazing because it involves a Roman centurion, who symbolizes occupying power. Luke’s readers, thirty to forty years later than the story itself, are probably amazed that the story’s central character is a Roman soldier. Rome, at that time, still occupied Israel, and Rome was […]
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Biblical Texts | Tagged: Authority, Centurion, Faith, Jesus, Luke 7:1-10 |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
February 26, 2013
God tests Jesus in the wilderness and Satan tempts him to satisfy his desires by inappropriate means. One need is hunger. It would seem that satisfying hunger should not be characterized as inappropriate. Food is a created good to be enjoyed. The Slanderer (Diabolos) suggests that Jesus should create his own food. If he really […]
3 Comments |
Theology | Tagged: Bible-Luke, Communion, Fasting, Feasting, Jesus, Lent, Luke 4:3-4, Mission, Temptation, Testing, Wilderness |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
January 28, 2013
At least two theological themes emerge from this pericope. On the one hand, the kingdom of God breaks into the life of a woman who had been bound by her disability for eighteen years. She is healed and experiences redemption. On the other hand, opposition to the kingdom of God arises in response to her […]
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Biblical Texts | Tagged: Bible-Luke, Curse, Gospel of Luke, Healing, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Luke 13:10-17, Ministry of Jesus, Sabbath |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
August 1, 2012
The movement of Jesus from Praetorium to the cross is known as the Via Dolorosa among the pious. But for the Romans, and in Mark’s story, it is something quite different. It is not only the depths of Christ’s sorrow and humiliation, but it is also imperial triumphalism and an imperial assertion of power. Crucifixion […]
2 Comments |
Biblical Texts | Tagged: Crucifixion, Empire, Gospel of Mark, Jesus, Mark 15:21-32, Romans, Temple |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks
November 11, 2011
My dear friend, as well as colleague, Lee C. Camp has recently released a new book entitled: Who Is My Enemy? Questions American Christians Must Face About Islam–and Themselves. Lee is Professor of Theology and Ethics at Lipscomb University in Nashville (TN) where I also teach. Lee uses a line from a prayer of St. […]
8 Comments |
Books, Church History, Theology | Tagged: Islam, Jesus, Just War Tradition, Nonviolence, Peace, Terrorism, War |
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Posted by John Mark Hicks