what does it mean to love neighbor – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

God, Self & Other – Luke 14: Healing on the Sabbath??? (When Love Breaks the Law)

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

What does it look like – in practice – to love God? In this episode we look at 3 events (Luke 6:1-16) that bring into sharp relief the distinction between Jesus and his religious opponents (in this case, the often maligned Pharisees), particularly with regard to what it means to love God. Is love ultimately a matter of the will, choosing to obey the divine rules? Or is there more to it…?

Join us as we examine the relationship between love of God and love of neighbor.

Also, are you in the Southern California area??? Why not join Kirk and the Canvas family for a Sunday morning, a service project or social event? You can find the calendar of upcoming activities and a link to sign up for Canvas e-mail updates is at the bottom of the main page on the website!

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God, Self & Other – Luke 04: The Annunciation to Mary

March 10, 2017April 8, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

The “annunciation” to Mary of Jesus’s birth is, at one level, a very gracious encounter between God and a young girl – the divine revelation that, with Mary’s permission, she will be the means through which God’s messiah enters into creation. And it involves one of the great miracles of the biblical story – the pregnancy of a virgin.

But the drama of this story goes vastly deeper as Luke draws together many strands of the Hebrew prophets to demonstrate that the child to be born is himself the fulfillment of the promise of salvation. This is the first declaration of imminence of the kingdom of God, a kingdom that will be a direct threat to the kings of this age.

In this episode our pal, Mike Regele, examines the details of the Angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary and how it sets the stage for the ministry of Jesus that is about to unfold.

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God, Self & Other – Luke 03: In the Days When God Seemed Far, Far Away…

February 27, 2017April 8, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Luke opens on a darkened scene. Herod, a despotic ruler installed by Rome, sits on David’s throne in Jerusalem – a powerful symbol that Israel is far from where she expected to be. The first character we meet is Zechariah – an aged priest of a childless wife – coming to due his religious duty in the Temple. It all speaks of hope abandoned, promises that will never be fulfilled.

This, of course, was not how it was supposed to be. God had declared a proper king would reign with justice over his land and that abundance would flow from Zion (the temple mount). And yet, by every visible measure, there was as much chance of the kingdom of God being established on earth as a coming child for Zechariah. And then…