"...you hypocrites..." A lot of scripture is metaphoric, symbolic. Some of it isn't. "...their religion is worthless." "...you hypocrites..." In addition to not being terribly metaphoric, these words are about individuals, as well as collective communities. The ancient world had little concept of individuality in the way we understand it. It's hard for us to understand such a collective reality, and sometimes we misunderstand scripture because of that. Here, however, with James and … [Read more...]
Sin, Confession and Reconciliation – Wk. 4 Biblical Imagination Series
Our purpose today is to draw inspiration from Leviticus and imagine what Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation could look like. We read a representative part of chapter 4, but the full picture goes all the way to Lev6:7. These verses describe the Sin Offerings and Guilt Offerings. Let me start with a confession: I have always struggled with Prayer. For some of you, it comes easily; you have a strong ability to talk and listen to God. I envy you; it has never been easy for me. So I was … [Read more...]