by Chris Wiles | Mar 10, 2012 | Faith
The following video is “Yahweh,” by the band U2. The name “Yahweh” is one of the primary names for God in Hebrew. It was a deeply personal name, so much so that when the name “Yahweh” was printed, the Hebrews used to switch to the name “Adonai” (analogous to “Lord”)... 
by Chris Wiles | Mar 9, 2012 | Faith
To finally put the last piece on this week’s series of posts, we need to go back to Luke 5. It’s right after Jesus heals the paralyzed man who’d been lowered through the window. And, as we saw, Jesus calls Levi away from his life as a tax collector to be a disciple... 
by Chris Wiles | Mar 8, 2012 | Faith
His whole life had been defined by distance. He was an “outsider,” they told him; a Samaritan. To this day he still couldn’t remember all the reasons why he and the Jews would never really get along. “Unclean,” they said, not because of anything he’d done, but... 
by Chris Wiles | Mar 7, 2012 | Faith
The Pharisees were some of Jesus’ most fierce opponents. They appear in every gospel, and rarely in a positive light. The word “Pharisee” didn’t refer to an occupation – it referred to an ideology or a set of beliefs, like the way we might use “republican” or... 
by Chris Wiles | Mar 6, 2012 | Faith
In the first century, paralysis rendered you wholly dependent on others for…well, everything. So you can imagine that even family and friends were weary of having to tend to his needs, and would have jumped at hearing that this gifted healer named Jesus was teaching... 
by Chris Wiles | Mar 3, 2012 | Faith
The background of Jesus’ life’s work comes from the book of Isaiah. In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus walks into the synagogue. It’s no accident that the scroll of Isaiah is handed to Him. Jesus unrolls it, and reads to His audience a few selections from the prophet’s...
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