“Who say ye that I am?” is the question with which Jesus confronted the twelve at Caesarea Philippi. Men and women of our day are no less challenged to answer the same question, a question upon which hangs the very meaning of life itself. Who is this whose influence has cast itself powerfully across nineteen centuries?

The only Jesus we may know is the one whose story is written in the New Testament by His close companions and disciples. This is the “historical Jesus.” If we attack their simple, straightforward accounts as unreliable, we have burned the only bridge by which…

    “May your days be merry and bright.”  That’s not a problem for me during this season.  I love everything about it: the decorations, the music, the movies, the cooler weather, the family traditions. I think strangers are even friendlier to one another when they pass on the street, exchanging a chipper “good morning” on a cool, brisk day.  

    But to some, this is not “the most wonderful time of the year.”  The Holiday Blues are real.  They usher in periods of pain, sadness, and even depression.  While I’m enjoying a predictable plot on some Hallmark movie, another might…

    The backdrop of the book of Romans was a congregation made up of both Jews and Gentiles. In addition to this mix of peoples was the fact that the emperor of Rome kicked the Jews out of Rome for a time and then after his death they were allowed to return. These two factors caused many issues for the Christians as their backgrounds and traditions were much different. Jews were raised with the mindset of being God’s special people, close alliance to the law and its traditions. Gentiles came from a pagan background with less regard for the traditions…