December 17 - January 7

Whew! I'm quite behind on my "weekly" blog posts, but some of you reading this might've seen me in person this past month as I travelled to Kansas for a few weeks to spend the holidays with family and speak at a number of places! Below I have attached some pictures and videos of different places I spoke or engaged, so feel free to check them out and let me know if I'm a heretic :) I also have the slides that I pretty much follow in the sermons, so you should be able to follow along if you desire! I also just created an unlisted YouTube playlist where I will make available different videos of me speaking as they occur in the future. The videos aren't accessible without the playlist or individual video link found here!

The Kingdom of God: Jesus' Main Message

Here I spoke at Plains Friends Church about the gospel that Jesus preached in His earthly ministry and its supremacy over the modern narratives of the gospel which frequently ring up insufficient and uncompelling. I talk about the consequences of having an insufficient gospel and the concern we should have about teaching something other than what Christ taught. To the right are the slides that mostly follow what I was talking about just in case you are interested in those as well. As I'm sure I said in the video, feel free to hit me with any questions, comments, concerns, or accusations regarding what I covered, and I would be glad to field them as best I can!

The Great Commission: God's Command to Be Ministers

Here I spoke at Plains Friends Church again in the evening for people from various churches in the area. I address here the quite familiar passage referred to as The Great Commission. I correct the often too narrow reading of this passage which promotes apathy and accepted disobedience of the commands of our God. I address what it is that Jesus commands the eleven to make as they go, as well as address a fascinating reference that Jesus clearly makes back to, arguably, one of His favorite passages of scripture: Daniel 7:13-14. The slides I used are also to the right if you wish to see them more clearly than in the video. We also had a time of Q&A afterwards, but the audio was questionable, so I shortened this version to end after I finished my presentation. However, if you have any comments, questions, concerns, or accusations for me, please don't hesitate to contact me and I would be happy to field it as best I can!

Incarnational Implications: Gospel, Discipleship, Sacrifice

Here I spoke at Hutchinson Friends Church on the radical implications necessitated by the gospel that Jesus preached. The heart of the sermon was focused on the incarnational example of Jesus giving us a perfect image of how we ought to interact with other people and view our interests and preferences. However, in hopes of not leaving these exhortations detached from the larger biblical narrative, I aimed to provide explanation of how the gospel Jesus preached necessitates discipleship, which necessitates imitation of Christ, which necessitates knowing Christ and then learning from Him how to be, think, and do as Jesus. The slides I used, which are probably helpful for following everything in this one, are to the right if you want them. Again, let me know if you have any comments, questions, concerns, or accusations as I gladly welcome them for consideration and conversation!