Aaron Simms's Blog, page 10

The Vineyard and the Fruit of the Church – Matthew 21:33-46

In Matthew 21:33-46, Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard.  Vineyards were very important in the ancient world.  Wine was mixed with water in order to make the water safe to drink; the alcoholic content of the wine served to kill little critters that might be living in the water.  And in areas were grapes wouldn’t grow, people grew wheat, hops, and barley and brewed beer instead, serving much the same purpose as wine in providing people something safe to drink.

Vineyards were so important i...

A Question of Authority – Matthew 21:23ff

The central question in Matthew 21:23 and following centers around the issue of authority.  The chief priests and elders of the people want to know by what authority Jesus is teaching and performing miracles and who gave him this authority.  So, as Jesus is teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, they interrupt him to ask: “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority.”

I don’t know what sort of answer they expected from Jesus.  They would have found fault with w...

The Luxuries of a Church at Ease – A Call for Christian Unity

Lately, I’ve been reading C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity as part of a book club.  This, along with other recent events and discussions, has caused me to think more about unity within the Church. First, some context.  Lewis states in the preface to his book that his intent is not to discuss Christian denominations or differences among the denominations.  Instead, he seeks to provide an explanation of what he calls “mere” Christianity; that is, the things held in common among all Christians.  ...

“The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like…” – Matthew 20

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about what the “kingdom of heaven is like.”  In the New Testament, the “kingdom of heaven” or “kingdom of God” refers to the “reign of God,” rather than to a place.  So, what is God’s reign among His people like?

Jesus’ parable on this topic is about a master of a house who hired laborers for his vineyard.  Throughout the day he hired more and more laborers.  At the end of the day as he paid them their daily wage, the people who had been hired early in the...

Forgiveness – Matthew 18:21-35

How often are we to forgive someone who has wronged us?  Peter asks this question of Jesus.  Indeed, it comes right after Jesus had been talking about reconciliation.  He said that if someone wrongs you, go to that person alone and “show him his fault.”  If he listens, then you two have been reconciled.  If he doesn’t listen, then take a couple witnesses.  If he still doesn’t listen, then take it to the Church.  If he doesn’t listen after that, then “let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax co...

“You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here.”

 

The recent hurricanes caused me to reflect on Job 38:1-11:

Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,

“Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
What were its foundations fastened on?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning st...

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” – Matthew 18:1-20

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?  This question naturally follows what we discussed last week in Matthew’s Gospel when we compared the theology of glory with the theology of the cross.  Sinful humanity wants to try to take credit for its salvation and glory in its achievements.    Sinful humanity asks this question: “Who is the greatest?”  Maybe the greatest is the one who is most pious, or who knows the most, or who does the most good for other people?  Maybe the greatest is the...

Good Books

I’m sometimes asked if I can recommend some good books to those who are interested in the Christian faith or want to learn more.  So, I thought I’d share what I’ve recommended to people in the past.  The list below is organized in various sections, and at the end I’ve included some of my own books just because I wrote those books to fill gaps I perceived in the literature.  (Note and full disclosure, the links below are Amazon affiliate links)

 

Theology

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis – Thi...

An Unreasonable God – Matthew 16:13-20

If you were to create your own religion, how would you go about it?  How would you create it?  You’d probably start by modeling it on the way the world around us works.  Take our jobs, for instance.  In the corporate world, we progress from one stage to another and we get greater and greater glory and recognition as we advance up the corporate ladder.  Our goal is to continue to keep going upwards.

If we were going to make up a religion, we’d probably use a similar model.  So, it’d be based o...

Book Club

Based on the survey responses, we’ll start our Book Club with C. S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity.” I hope you’ll join me!

We’ll use Goodreads to host the discussion forum, so just go to the link below to sign up and join the group (it’s free).

To start, check out the “Introductions” topic and introduce yourself. Each week, I’ll open up the other topics for discussion. Feel free to get any edition of “Mere Christianity” you want.

Here are the important dates:

– Sept 15th, opening of the “Week 1”...