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Resurrection Happens

This was posted on my old blog on March of 2013. I have resisted the temptation to tone down the sentiments expressed here.


Right around the time I formally retired from the United Methodist ministry, I surprised myself. I recognized that I was still a Christian. In a way, nothing had changed. Yet, somehow it had.

And, that’s how it still is. I still hunger for worship. I still interpret life by reference to the Bible and the historic beliefs of Christians. I still want to lead others to Christ. I still want to pray. I still love to preach. I still wish I could teach the Bible.

It’s all pretty weird in a way.

Things went bad in the last full time parish I served in the United Methodist Church. The issue had to do with my wife and my family. If it had had to do with me and my conduct of ministry that would have been bearable — but, the attack centered on my wife and family. And the Bishop of the Michigan Area of the United Methodist Church sided with the church against my wife and family. (more…)

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Rob Bell: Resurrection

 

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Ben Witherington: Easter and the Resurrection

 

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A Prayer for the Day

prayer&candleLiving God,
long ago, faithful women
proclaimed the good news
of Jesus’ resurrection,
and the world was changed forever.
Teach us to keep faith with them,
that our witness may be as bold,
our love as deep,
and our faith as true. Amen.

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Pannenberg: The Cross & Resurrection

Wolfhart Pannenberg

Wolfhart Pannenberg

The resurrection effectively reversed the charges against Jesus and confirmed his mission. We thus see that if he had saved his life at the cost of his proclaiming the divine lordship, he would have actually made himself independent of God and put himself in equality with him. ‘Whoever would save his life will lose it’ (Mark 8:35 par.). This was true of Jesus himself. He could not be the Son of God by an unlimited duration of his finite existence. No finite being can be one with God in infinite reality. Only as he let his creaturely existence be consumed in service to his mission could Jesus as a creature be one with God. As he did not cling to his life but chose to accept the ambivalence that his mission meant for his person, with all its consequences, he showed himself, from the standpoint of he Easter event, to be obedient to his mission (Rom. 5:19, Heb. 5:8). This obedience led him into the situation of extreme separation from God and His immortality, into the dereliction of the cross. The remoteness from God on the cross was the climax of his self-distinction from the Father. Rightly then, we may say that the crucifixion was integral to his earthly existence.

— Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume 2. (1991) pp. 374, 375.

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Matt O’Reilly: Will God Destroy Our Bodies?

Matt_OReilly

Matt O’Reilly

Guest blog by Matt O’Reilly. Matt is the pastor of the  First United Methodist Church of Union Springs, Alabama. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary and is a PhD Candidate in New Testament studies at University of Gloucestershire, and an adjunct member of the faculties of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary and Wesley Biblical Seminary. Matt used to write regularly at a blog called Incarnatio: Scripture & Culture in Wesleyan Perspective — and that’s where I found this piece. He says: “My thinking has been deeply influenced by the writings of John Wesley; so you’ll see a distinctly Wesleyan perspective in my approach to the range of topics on which I undertake to write.” You can also follow Matt on Twitter: @mporeilly. (more…)

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