(*I found this on the old Rock site and thought it was worth re-posting, for those who haven’t seen it)

A young pupil wanted to prove his commitment and trust in his teacher.  “Master, I want you to see how much I trust you with my life.  Give me a challenge, ask me to do anything, and I will do it—no matter how dangerous,” he spouted confidently.

“If you insist, I will not refuse you.  But take a night’s sleep before demanding this of me,” replied the teacher softly.

“Very well, I will take a night’s sleep.”

The next day the pupil returned more adamant than ever, “Please master, you must see how devoted I am to you.  It is important to me.”

“Alright, you have your test.  Go down into the forest and find where the Sapient river splits in two.  There you will see the Read the rest of this entry »

Two Fools on the Road to Emmaus Podcast -  Looking through rose-colored glasses, and seeing through a glass darkly are phrases which culturally describe a condition where we admit that perhaps we see things in biased and maybe not completely accurate ways.  This doesn’t imply the absence of absolute truth, but rather challenges our ability to know it absolutely.

The challenge is we all have a worldview, the way we have learned to see the world and make sense of what happens in it and to us.  We all have them but they are all to some degree inaccurate.  This doesn’t mean they are necessarily bad, just not always complete.  The problem comes when a) we are oblivious to the fact we indeed we have a particular worldview and it has some effect on our perception of reality, b) when we are so firm in our worldview we are closed to new information or another point of view, c) we in our arrogance impose our worldview indiscriminately on others.

Mark and Michael begin a two part series on worldview.  If we want to embrace a Kingdom worldview it seems necessary to allow scripture (in context) to shape our worldview, but often times we use scripture (out of context) to affirm our own worldview / agenda and call it Kingdom, with unhealthy results.  The guys challenge themselves to trust Jesus and allow the radical and subversive message of the Kingdom to shape the way they see the world, others and Jesus.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 23:27 — 5.4MB)

Two Fools on the Road to Emmaus Podcast -   Seems the good folks at Thomas-Nelson publishing have published yet another in a growing line of thematic bibles.   The Patriots Bible is a New King James version that “intersects the teachings of the Bible with the history of the Unites States while applying it to today’s culture.”  Here is a brief blurb from Greg Boyd :

“The central assumption that undergirds the Patriot’s Bible is that America is, in a unique sense, a nation established, governed, blessed and protected by God. Throughout the Patriot’s Bible, but especially in the Old Testament, an explicit parallel is drawn between Israel and America.

For example, George Washington is exalted as the “American Moses,” about whom the commentators wonder “[h]ow…is it possible for so much greatness to be embodied in one man?” Similarly, as God brought the Israelites out of oppression and led them into the promised land, so God led the brave pioneers of America out of their oppression and brought them to their promised land. As God fought on the side of the Israelites to ensure victory over their foes, so God’s providential hand was at work in all of America’s military victories. And just as God used the children of Abraham to bless the whole world, so God has used, and wants to continue to use, America to bless the entire world by bringing it freedom.”

Mark and Michael discuss nationalism and the inherent dangers of hi-jacking scripture to justify past and present behavior, as they dig into Kingdom and nationalism.

Podcast: Download (0.0KB)

Once upon a time in the sea they call black, where the water is turbid and brackish and generally pugnacious toward men; where the ebbs are said to carry away the debris of the soul, if you care to leave it there; where the water is shallow and warm in the summer, but cold and thick in the winter; there lived a pretentious little tunny named Tubby.  He roamed freely amongst the meadows of Zostera seagrass, feeding on various crustaceans, tunicates, and small fish (sardines were his favorite).  His body was steel blue with a speckled-white underbelly, and powerfully designed to propel him through the water.  When he joined the other tunnies—which was rare, for he found them simple and unambitious—they looked like little metallic darts piercing the water before them. Read the rest of this entry »

continued from Part 1.

Several floors up, in fact the top floor, was the suite belonging to a full service law firm named Mayers, Conrad and Penny.  They specialized in Tax/Corporate law and had found a very lucrative niche.  Many of the nation’s largest businesses retained the firm because they were the most proficient, in no small part due to the rising star of Mark Sinclaire.
Sinclaire, now in his mid-thirties, had graduated with honors from McGill.   He had been practicing tax law for a decade now and served his clients and partners well.   Mark led a fairly quiet life: just his work, his cat and Cameron.  Read the rest of this entry »