growing in love – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

God, Self & Other – Luke 12: “We Have Seen Strange Things…” (Resurrection, Part 1 – Jesus Heals a Paralytic)

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Jesus’s miracles are never mere exhibitions of power, meant only to demonstrate his divine identity or access to power. While they do this, they are far more – they are embodiments of the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’s presence, an ailing creation is made whole, broken humanity made new.

In this episode we look at a profound moment in Jesus’s ministry – the healing of a man afflicted by paralysis and a demonstration of paradigmatic example of faith (in the acts of the man’s friends). The afflicted man is, of course, healed and in ways that foreshadow the greater Kingdom this is yet to come.

This sermon was originally preached on Easter Sunday 2016 – just in case you were looking for an Easter sermon in mid-June. 😉

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God, Self & Other – Luke 11: Love Beyond Every Boundary (Healing a Man with Leprosy)

June 14, 2017June 14, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

If you’ve ever wondered how far the grace of God extends, the short answer is: beyond every imaginable barrier and boundary.

In this episode we look at Luke 5:12-16 – a short, but dramatic, encounter between Jesus and a man afflicted with leprosy. In the ancient world, few conditions were more feared or carried greater stigma. And Judaism held strict rules about contact between lepers and literally everyone else. Yet Jesus crosses every prohibition of fear and piety to take confer healing to a child of God in need. It is a first glimpse of what theologians refer to as “the great exchange” – Jesus taking what is ours (the curse of sin) and making it his, taking what is his (shalom) and making it ours.

To anyone who has ever thought themselves “too far gone” to be welcomed by God, this is yet another reminder that there is no such condition.

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Losing Faith, and Finding God after “God”

May 24, 2017May 24, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Doubt, true doubt (not the mere intellectual variety, but the deep questioning an agonized soul), is one of the most painful and most necessary aspects of the life of faith. All the great saints have been through it. From Augustine in his Confessions to St. John of the Cross’s Dark Night of the Soul, the church possesses a wealth of insight into losing faith so as to find it more profoundly.

In this episode, our friend Rev. Mike Regele shares his own, very personal doubt. It is a courageous look into the sources of doubt, the pain of doubt and the frightening questions that arise – all amidst a backdrop of experienced faith that has been here before. It is one of the most profound sermons I’ve heard and I’m glad to be able to share it with you.

During the sermon, Mike references a book that has been tremendously helpful to him, Anatheism, by Richard Kearney. And if you like Mike’s sermon, you might check out Mike’s books, too!

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