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Chosing a Bible translation January 31, 2008

First let me apologize.  As I’m sure you know, I haven’t been updating my blog regularly for the past few weeks.  I hope to correct that.  Thanks! . . .

Christians have always understood the Bible to be God’s self-revelation to humanity—a type of self-portrait of God.  It’s the account of His pursuit of and engagement with His creation.  Describing in terms such as “eternally binding” (Lk 16:17) and ”God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16), the biblical authors recognized the Bible to function as a sort of window or corrective lens through which our spiritual myopia or nearsightedness might be corrected.  If this is the case, it nearly goes without saying that it ought to be our number one priority to understand and internalize what is contained in such a book.  And wherever we’re at on this journey of pursuing the study of God’s Word, it’s essential that we have access to it.  Therefore, it seems that the most basic of tools which we absolutely must have is a good translation of the Bible.  So, where do we begin? (more…)

Why did Jesus change people’s names? January 18, 2008

One of the most shocking events in human history is when, within the radically monotheistic faith of Judaism, some people came to believe that the man Jesus of Nazareth was the divine Son of God.  Not shocked?  Why not?  It may be because we are so culturallly removed from those who first came to accept Jesus’ divinity.  As 21st century Americans we have been influenced by eastern thought.  Just turn on Oprah for instance, and you’ll likely hear someone espousing the eastern/monistic/pantheistic idea that we are all gods or somehow a slice of the Divine essence.  And while we might shake our heads, not many of us would even gasp at witnessing such as claim made on TV.  Not so however, for the 1st century Palestinian Jew.  (more…)

Hope’s song January 13, 2008

For those of you who are Timberline family, as well as others who are not, you are familiar with Hope Herman.  A few weeks ago, just days after her 11th birthday, in a weekend service she shared her story.  More than that, she shared her song.  We listened to her beautiful little voice sing “In Christ Alone,” accompanied by piano.  Her story of bedrock faith and trust in God while struggling with leukemia has and continues to impact our community in a profound way. 

On Friday evening (1/11/08) Hope ended her struggle and went to be with her Savior, whom she knew so well and loved so intensely.  Many of us have heard just parts of the Herman family’s story.  So, I asked Diane, Hope’s mother, if she would mind sharing the story which she has told many times, in a place for those who have been impacted by Hope’s life and song.  So here it is: (more…)

Is our desire for God evidence of His existence? January 9, 2008

All arguments for the existence of God can be classified into two broad categories—cosmological and psychological.  Cosmological arguments take their data from the external world, while psychological arguments start from the evidence we find within ourselves.  One of the more powerful psychological arguments for God’s existence—though less known—is the argument from desire.  That is, the nature of our desire for God seems to provide evidence that God exists.  (more…)

Human Dignity & Bioethics (Rm 211 @ 10:00am) 6 weeks: JAN 13–FEB 17 January 1, 2008

Matt Hickey, Ph.D. (contact me @ contactus@timberlinechurch.org)

Matt has been on the faculty at CSU since 1997. His home department is Health and Exercise Science, and he holds joint appointments in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, and in Department of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Matt’s Ph.D. is in bioenergetics, and he has post-doctoral training in biochemistry. He has chaired the Human Research Committee, which oversees human research ethics at CSU, for the past 4 years. He has been involved in research ethics review for over 10 years, including service on an ethics committee at a medical school.

Schedule and more: (more…)