Word Of Life Church Podcast

The Crucifixion is not a defeat to be overturned by Resurrection; the Crucifixion is a victory revealed by Resurrection. The cross was made by Christ to become the portal by which he invaded death to liberate the dead ones.

In Cain the world was organized around an axis of power enforced by violence. Violent power became the organizing principle for human civilization. This is the story of Cain of Abel, the story of Romulus and Remus, the story Sméagol and Déagol. These archetypal stories remind us of dark truths we would rather keep hidden. But Jesus came into the world to shine the light, tell the truth, and re-found the world. In Christ crucified the world is re-founded around an axis of love expressed in forgiveness.

On Good Friday the sin of the world coalesced into a hideous singularity that upon the cross it might be forgiven en masse.

John's poetic prologue to his Gospel is one of the loftiest presentations of Christology in all the New Testament—it's also one of them of the most beautiful passages of Scripture. John's theopoetics reaches its crescendo when proclaims that until we see Jesus, we've never seen God.

When Jesus was dedicated in the Temple, two old prophets -- Simeon and Anna -- spoke of the infant Jesus as Salvation and Redemption. Indeed, Jesus will save both Simeon and Anna, but neither of them knows how.

We look for Jesus in the story of Isaac, because as Christians that is how we read the Bible. Issac is the son of promise. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Isaac is the son of laughter. Jesus is the bringer of joy. Isaac is the son of sacrifice. Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Isaac serves as a signpost pointing to the hope, joy, and new life we find in Jesus.

In his many adventures Abraham constantly encountered Christ in some way. Abraham encountered Christ in the Voice that called him out Ur of the Chaldees and into the land of Canaan. In the foreshadowing of Melchizedek king of Salem who gave him bread and wine. In the trinity of strangers he entertained at his tent under the oaks of Mamre. In the smoking oven and burning torch that appeared when the covenant was cut. In the ram caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah on the day Isaac was offered up. Truly Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus is the Ark that carries the Cosmos away from corruption and into God’s new creation. Just as there was a door placed in the side of the Ark for access to salvation, so the side of Jesus was pierced that creation might enter the heart of Christ and be carried through the flood of destruction and arrive safely in a redeemed world where all things are made new.

Where do we find Jesus in Genesis in relation to Adam? We find Jesus as a new Adam who gives humanity a new original ancestor. We find Jesus in the Seed of the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent. We find Jesus in the One who comes in search of lost Adam.

If we read the Old Testament as only predating Christ instead of deeply anticipating and foreseeing Christ, we have failed to read it in a Christian manner. But when we see Christ as the Creator, as the New Adam, as Noah’s Ark, as Abraham’s sought-after city, as Isaac’s ram on Mount Moriah, as the ladder between heaven and earth that Jacob saw, as foretold in the life of Joseph, then are we reading the Old Testament in the way Jesus taught his disciples to read it following his resurrection.

John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shoreHis mama sure was proud of him!He stood so straight and tall in his uniform and allHis mama’s face broke out into a grin“Oh son, you look so fine, I’m glad you’re a son of mineMake me proud to know you’re wearing a gunDo what the captain says, lots of medals you will getWe’ll put them on the wall when you come home”That old train pulled out, John’s ma began to shoutTelling everybody in the neighborhood“That’s my son that’s about to go, he’s a soldier now, you know”She made well sure her neighbors understoodShe got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smileShe showed them to the people from next doorShe bragged about her son with his uniform and gunIn this thing she called a good old-fashioned warThen the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not comeCeased to come for about ten months or moreThen a letter finally came saying, “Go down and meet the trainYour son is coming back from the war”She smiled and she went right down, she loo

My name was Richard Nixon only now I'm a girlYou wouldn't know it but I used to be the king of the worldCompared to last time I look like I've hit the skidsLiving in the project with my two little kidsIt's not what I would of choseNow you have to call me RoseI was boss of bosses the last time aroundI lived by cunning and ambition unboundThe suckers said they'd stand behind me right or wrongAs if they thought that hubris was the mark of the strongI was an arrogant manBut now I've got it in handIt's not what I would have choseNow you have to call me RoseCall me RoseCall me RoseIt's not what I would have choseNow you have to call me Rose My name was Richard Nixon only now I'm a girlYou wouldn't know it but I used to be the king of the worldI'm back here learning what it is to be poorTo have no power but the strength to endureI'll perform my penance wellMaybe the memoir will sellIt's not what I would of choseNow you have to call me Rose

We're all born to broken people on their most honest day of livingAnd since that first breath we'll need grace that we've never givenI've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghostsAnd it's not only when these eyes are closedThese lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,But they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weatherAnd my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,Stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets betterBut it won't, at least I don't believe it willSo I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,To sail these blood red seas and find your coastDon't let these waves wash away your hopesThis war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchorsPulling fist-fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviorsBut I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single boardWashed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shoresSo come on and let's wash each other with tears of joy and tears of griefAnd fold our lives like crashing w

Well, I came upon a child of GodHe was walking along the roadAnd I asked him, tell me, where are you goingThis he told meSaid, I'm going down to Yasgur's FarmGonna join in a rock and roll bandGot to get back to the land and set my soul freeWe are stardust, we are goldenWe are billion year old carbonAnd we’ve got to get ourselves back to the gardenWell, then can I roam beside you?I have come to lose the smog,And I feel myself a cog in something turningAnd maybe it's the time of yearYes and maybe it's the time of manAnd I don't know who I amBut life is for learningWe are stardust, we are goldenWe are billion year old carbonAnd we got to get ourselves back to the gardenBy the time we got to WoodstockWe were half a million strongAnd everywhere was a song and a celebrationAnd I dreamed I saw the bomber death planesRiding shotgun in the sky,Turning into butterfliesAbove our nationWe are stardust, we are goldenWe are caught in the devil’s bargainAnd we got to get ourselves back to the garden

Saw a man's home, a box made of cardboardFrozen to the bone, can't take much moreHe says Lord I need help here, send me a strong handTo lift me from the street, help me to standI've been forgotten, been forsakenPoisoned by a bottle I could not shake itI've been passed over, been rejectedAnd I'm afraid I'll never feelThe warmth of summer come againMan I am helpless, I'm freezingYou were there, you were thereI saw a sick man on a sick bedScorned by the world like he had two headsHe says I'm a man here dying a cruel deathI'm cut off from the world, man it was so sadHe was suffering, he was ailingTortured by his fate, his body was failingHe says I'm an outcast, left defenselessAnd I'm afraid that I'll be deadBefore the summer comes againI've been rejected, man I am dyingYou were there, you were thereSaw a rich man alone in a dark houseA prison made of gold he could not break outHe says my life is aimless, it just seems pointlessBoredom truly kills, man I am hopelessI got diamonds, I got housesI got silver clouds

When I was young it seemed that life was so wonderfulA miracle, oh it was beautiful, magicalAnd all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happilyJoyfully, playfully watching meBut then they send me away to teach me how to be sensibleLogical, oh responsible, practicalAnd they showed me a world where I could be so dependableClinical, intellectual, cynicalThere are times when all the world's asleepThe questions run too deepFor such a simple manWon't you please, please tell me what we've learnedI know it sounds absurdBut please tell me who I amNow watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radicalLiberal, fanatical, criminalWon't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptableRespectable, presentable, a vegetable!Oh, take it take it yeahAt night, when all the world's asleepThe questions run so deepFor such a simple manWon't you please tell me what we've learnedI know it sounds absurdBut please tell me who I am

When things become unsettled, we typically look for some kind of change, something new, but what we need right now is not a new car, a new job, a new spouse, a new church, or a new country. What we need in the midst of all this craziness is a new hope. Faith, hope, and love all work together. Faith is a present reality oriented towards the past, what God has done. Hope is a present reality oriented towards the future, what God will do. Love is that present reality made known by the Holy Spirit.

When David returned to his home in Ziklag, he encountered disaster -- he had lost everything. His house had burned down, his possessions had all been stolen, his family had been kidnapped. What do you do on a day like that? How do you recover from such devastating loss?

The living God is the God who speaks. This God who knows you, loves you, and calls you by name, will speak to you. You can learn to discern the voice of God. And this is a wonderful thing, because one word from God can change your life.

We live in a moment when almost everyone feels weary and worn. Too much has come at us too fast. We are facing no less than four crises at once: A public health crisis; an economic crisis; a political crisis; a racial justice crisis. In addition to these we still have to deal with whatever personal crises may come our way. We are weary and worn. And to the weary and worn Jesus says, “Come to me. You're weary and I want to give you rest. You're worn out from heavy burdens—let me lighten your load. The world is harsh, but I am gentle; the age is arrogant, but I am humble; the times are hard, but my yoke is easy. Come to me and I will give you rest.”