Aaron Simms's Blog, page 11

What’s the “Nashville Statement?”

 

Within the last couple of days you may have heard about “The Nashville Statement.”  It was formulated by “The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood” and signed onto by many Christian leaders and lay people, mostly from an American Christian evangelical background.

The focus of the Statement is on human sexuality and the Biblical teaching that God created man and woman to become one flesh (Genesis 1:27, 2:24, 5:2; Matthew 19:4ff; Ephesians 5:21ff).  I encourage you to read the Statement...

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” – Matthew 16:13-20

Who is Jesus?  Just who is this man who walked the earth 2000 years ago?  That is the question posed to us in Matthew 16:13-20.

By this point in the reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been teaching and healing enough that many people in the region had heard of him.  So, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  This title – Son of Man – was Jesus’ preferred way of referring to himself.  This title appears 83 times in the New Testament, mostly in the Gospels,...

Solar Eclipse 2017

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

– Psalm 19:1

My family and I were able to view the total solar eclipse on Monday from Clingmans Dome in Tennessee, which was one of the twelve official NASA viewing sites for the eclipse.  I bought the tickets back in March and was lucky enough to get through the on-line purchase process before they sold out.

We drove to Waynesville, North Carolina on Saturday, spending the weekend there and in Asheville.  Then...

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman – Matthew 15:21-28

Today, I thought we’d do something a little different by talking first about Biblical interpretation and then applying what we talk about to the Gospel text for today (Matthew 15:21-28).

We all do interpretation every day.  We interpret things people say or do or write in order to make sense of them; and we have an internal “dictionary” that provides us with our guidelines for how to do this.  There’s even a field of forensics called “Statement Analysis” that attempts to discover what people’...

A Few Updates

I thought I’d share a few updates concerning some projects I’ve been working on.

First, as I announced on Facebook the other day, I’ve started a podcast which is accessible on SoundCloud and iTunes.  The intent of the podcast is to talk about similar issues as my blog.  I have 3 episodes up so far and will be adding more at the rate of 1 a week.

Second, I’ll be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday and will try to take some pictures, which I’ll post online.

Third, I’m about...

On The Chaos at Charlottesville and “Race”

Over the weekend, there were a series of protests and riots in Charlottesville, Virginia.  On the one side was a leftist group known as “antifa” (“anti-fascists”), on the other were “alt-right” white nationalists.  At least three people died and 19 were injured in the confrontation between the two groups.

I’m at a loss to really understand the reasoning behind the protests and riots, or why this seems to keep occurring in Charlottesville (I’m told that “other than the KKK, it’s a really nice...

Jesus Walks on Water – Matthew 14:22-33

Last week we saw in the Gospel reading that Jesus Christ fed 5,000 men, plus women and children, in a desolate place in the wilderness of Galilee – the Lord God came in the flesh to stand upon the earth that He had created to provide for His people through His creation.  This Yahweh – “He who is and who causes to be” – fed His people in the wilderness of Sinai with the manna from heaven, fed His people in the desolate place of Galilee with the bread from Jesus, and continues to feed His peopl...

Confessions of St. Augustine

Many years ago, I first read St. Augustine’s Confessions, and it had a profound impact on me (I’ll get to why in a moment).  I’ve since read it a few times, even listening to it in audiobook format.  For anyone interested in the Christian faith, I recommend reading it.  Before I get into why, let me first summarize St. Augustine’s life and this book.

St. Augustine lived in the late fourth century AD and into the early fifth century (November 12, 354 to August 28, 430).  He was born in Tagaste...

Jesus Provides (Matthew 14:13-21)

So, what’s going on in chapter 14 of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus feeds the 5000?  Actually, one thing to note right away is that we often call the event “Jesus feeding the 5000,” but that number doesn’t include women and children, so the actual number of people he fed is much larger.  And, it’s enlightening to look at this event in more detail (Matthew 14:13-21).

First, it occurs directly after Jesus hears that John the Baptist had been killed by Herod Antipas.  Upon hearing of this, Jesus g...

Nothing Can Separate Us – Romans 8:28-39

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)

These are God’s Word of comfort to you, as given through the Apostle Paul.  They speak of the surety of your salvation, because Jesus Christ himself has accomplished your salvation for you.  There’s no work for you to do, no debt...