Home »
Archive by category Uncategorized (Page 3)
The big ideas about life need to be woven into the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly routines of living if one wants to keep important Christian virtues fresh… like gratitude, repentance, mercy, and forgiveness. The perpetual rehearsal of core values in the seemingly mundane aspects of life, and...
Continue reading
August 9, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
When I was working on my first Master’s degree in Biblical Studies, a classmate and I were sitting in my living room, tussling over the meaning of a certain passage of Scripture. We were sharing life experiences, considering nerdy stuff like grammar, examining the context, and basically wrestling...
Continue reading
August 3, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
In my early teens, I tried to read the letters of Paul in the New Testament. It was an embarrassing experience. I lacked the skills to follow his arguments, had no context for the letter, and didn’t understand the vocabulary. My reading interests at the time topped out...
Continue reading
August 2, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
Practicing Jews and Christians are called to be “people of the book.” That doesn’t mean they always are, but it does mean that while our religion is meant to be a relationship with our Creator through which we strive to become more and more like Him, we also...
Continue reading
August 2, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
When my daughter and her other senior teammates ran their last track race together, the four of them held hands and crossed the finish line together, shouting, “The class of 2008 Rules!” It was a beautiful moment. The coach, however, hung his head, both smirking and bemoaning the...
Continue reading
August 1, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
If you’ve spent your life in church as I have, the special vocabulary of church as well as the common events of Sunday gatherings are like a comfy old blanket from childhood… washed of course. If, however, you are new to the entire idea of church, our terms...
Continue reading
July 29, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
Now, I know that Christians have a reputation for being the most stylish people in the room, but the title of our little chat today isn’t about wearing fashionable eye-wear, though I’m more than happy to give you some tips. Here’s one; monocles are out right now. What...
Continue reading
July 28, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
If you recently responded to an invitation to “accept Jesus as your savior,” and someone handed this devotional to you, let me be the first author to welcome you to the Christian family. Jesus said that the angels in heaven rejoice over every sinner who repents and who...
Continue reading
July 27, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
I came across a fascinating exchange, practically a monologue, between a Yakuza boss and a dying assassin in the recent Woody Harelson film called Kate.[1] Spoiler Alert… big time, by the way: Trained all her life as an assassin by her handler, and, unbeknownst to her, also the...
Continue reading
June 28, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
There are some 25 million immigrants[1] living illegally in the United States.[2] Many of them snuck across our Southern Border[3] and many others came to the US on visas of one sort or another and don’t leave. For some, this constitutes a heavy burden and a present danger...
Continue reading
June 28, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
In his book, Talking to Strangers,[1] Malcolm Gladwell discusses how difficult it can be to properly assess a stranger based on demeanor and facial expression. People always assume they are great at reading others, but in actual tests of accuracy with total strangers even self-proclaimed experts blow it...
Continue reading
April 4, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
Why do so many assume that a society with more tolerance for previously less tolerated members of society is automatically an improvement and a cause for celebration and joy? Wouldn’t it depend on whose being tolerated and the impact that this welcoming spirit allows them to exert on...
Continue reading
April 3, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
In The Thing, G. K. Chesterton declares, “…the truth is that nobody has any business to destroy a social institution until he has really seen it as an historical institution. If he knows how it arose, and what purposes it was supposed to serve, he may really be...
Continue reading
March 31, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
In Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall,” [1] one line has outlived all the others in the common tongue of the English speaking world, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Each year, as the poem goes, Frost and his neighbor walk the line of the stone wall between their properties,...
Continue reading
March 31, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
There is an Episode of 30 Rock, called “The Bubble”[1] in which Liz (Tina Fey) begins to date a character played by John Ham, whose good looks have allowed him to skate through life with nary a care. Doors open for him. Girls swoon over him. Bad things...
Continue reading
March 29, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
The movie, Child 44, and the novel of the same name, explore the life of a red-pilled Russian war hero, now, military policeman, Leo Demidov, in the days of Stalinist Russia as he investigates a serial killer of children, who the powers that be refuse to acknowledge. They...
Continue reading
March 23, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
One of my teachers in grade school grew up in Europe in the preceding and early years of World War II in one of the many nations bordering Germany. If I were to judge based on my memory of her slight accent, I would guess Austria, but to...
Continue reading
March 21, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
The Book of Hebrews is written to help Christians who, in the face of growing persecution and pressure from Jewish religious leaders, have begun to waver in their determination to remain followers of Jesus. In addition to warnings about the consequences of Christian Apostasy, Hebrews celebrates the superiority...
Continue reading
March 8, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
Psalm 119 is a poem that dedicates eight paired lines of poetry to each succeeding letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, all celebrating the power of divine Torah for promoting human thriving. The Beth section, (like our B, Greek’s Beta) verses 9-16 has particular value for our discussion at...
Continue reading
March 6, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
I just watched THE JESUS REVOLUTION. Highly recommend it. It gave me a lot to mull over. I grew up in those hippie movement/Jesus movement days, so it all seemed pretty normal to me at the time. I had nothing to compare it to. The movie holds out...
Continue reading
March 4, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Uncategorized
