Author: Administrador

Preaching Series on 1 John July 13, 2014 Preaching text: 1 John 1:1-4 God’s Tangible Word of LifeGospel: John 1:14-16 The Word became flesh The short book known as 1 John re-proclaims the message of John’s gospel in a changed context. The gospel recognized that both Jesus’ followers and his foes agreed that he was … Continue reading “1 John 1:1–2:2; 4:1-21 Commentary by Craig R. Koester”

Ask a non–Christian–even ask some Christians–what the point of Christian faith is. For many, it is “Jesus came so that I’ll live forever.” In the Gospels, however, Jesus never promises that he will be crucified and his disciples will be the risen ones. Such self–centeredness renders us deaf to a keynote in all of this … Continue reading “1 John 1:1-2:2 Commentary by C. Clifton Black”

Good News, Bad News This text plays nicely with this week’s reading about Thomas and his desire to press his hands into the bloody wounds of Jesus. It matters what our eyes have seen, what our ears have heard, what our hands and fingers have touched, because a flesh-and-blood world needs a flesh-and-blood savior. Easter … Continue reading “1 John 1:1-2:2 Commentary by Audrey West”

Sometimes we think of the first century as a kind of “honeymoon” period for early Christianity where the church, led by the Spirit, was the ideal of holiness and unity. Certainly it would have been an exciting period full of fresh revelation, miracles, and the rapid growth of the church. However, texts like 1 John … Continue reading “1 John 1:1-2:2 Commentary by Nijay Gupta”

The believers to whom Peter writes have, in his view, two interrelated problems: they doubt the coming of Christ and they are drawn to immoral living. Peter wants to remind (1:12) those believers who “have obtained a faith of equal standing” (1:1) of what they have been given by belief. The focus and core of … Continue reading “2 Peter 3:8-15a Commentary by L. Ann Jervis”

In this letter, the author (let’s call him Peter though we know it is not Peter of the Twelve) encourages the community into faithful living. This text, like many of the Advent texts, invites us into a space of exploration: What does it means to wait, to live in hope, to live in faith (for … Continue reading “2 Peter 3:8-15a Commentary by Dirk G. Lange”

“Are we there yet?” People will soon begin their holiday travels. In trains, planes, and automobiles countless children will ask this question as “over the river and through the woods” they go to visit family and friends. “Are we there yet?” I suspect that I drove my parents crazy with that question, and I suspect … Continue reading “2 Peter 3:8-15a Commentary by Lucy Lind Hogan”

The final Sunday in Epiphany is when the church remembers the Transfiguration of our Lord. Truth to tell, it’s a strange story, told in all three of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; and Luke 9:28-36). In the story, Jesus takes three of his disciples–Peter, James and John–with him up onto a “high mountain,” … Continue reading “2 Peter 1:16-21 Commentary by Dwight Peterson”

Transfiguration can be an uncomfortable feast day for contemporary preachers. Full of the skepticism of the scientific revolution, it is tempting for us to view the gospels’ testimony about the transfiguration as so much mythology. For, using our methods of analysis, we cannot explain with any certainty what exactly happened on the mountaintop that day. … Continue reading “2 Peter 1:16-21 Commentary by Margaret Aymer”

Though the words belong to an ancient letter, they seem so contemporary and modern. In part that is because of the issue that drives them — it’s about authority, credibility, and trust. “We were not following cleverly reasoned myths…” (2 Peter 1:16).   The words provide clues to a situation of conflict in which both … Continue reading “2 Peter 1:16-21 Commentary by James Boyce”