Card Talk
Ben Christian
The Angel of Death (Hezekiah 3:18): A ...

It’s now time to address that scythe wielding, six winged, cherub whose coming heralds fear in the heart of humanity [read that reference again] . . .

The Angel of Death (Hezekiah 3:18): A Misunderstood and Theologically Vital Non-Entity
Card Talk
Ben Christian
Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What ...

"Peter didn't know what the Hell he was talking about. He had no idea what the mountain-top experience really represented...Moses & Elijah represented encouragement and a reminder to be attentive to faithfulness, because dark days are coming..."

Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What we can learn from The Transfiguration and Other Mountain-Top Experiences
Creed Card Talk
Ben Christian
“Although Surprising to Most, the Kingdom of ...

 . . . one year we’ll defend our belief in an incarnation timed for Sukkoth as there is no way Jesus was born in December, and we’ll write the Card Talk about how the wise men did not show up until He was three years old. Eventually we’ll even address the fact that the little drummer boy was actually a drunk Roman solider looking for his estranged wife (okay, we just made that last one up) . . .

“Although Surprising to Most, the Kingdom of Heaven is really like___________”
Other, Card Talk
Ben Christian
O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14) [An ...

Sadly, this Advent Card Talk is applicable every year...

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14) [An Advent Card Talk]
Card Talk
Ben Christian
Jesus looking for a fight (Mark 11:11) -The Two ...

In discussing how fast "faith can move mountains," Matthew cuts Mark's three-day story in half. He speeds up the pace, chronologically and theologically. 

Jesus looking for a fight (Mark 11:11) -The Two Palm Sundays

Guest Card Talk

Altar Sex (Amos 2:8) [A Guest Card Talk]

Altar Sex (Amos 2:8) [A Guest Card Talk]

“The closest I ever came to having sex was right after prayer.” For many young adults, this observation would serve as a catalyst for a more active prayer life, but for us pious young men at a Christian college, this advice from a graduating senior served as a warning. Intimacy is risky and dangerous and, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up in the wrong holy of holies.

The Bible’s Nastiest Verse Answers Your Classic White-Person Question [A Guest Card Talk]

“As a white person, I haven’t experienced bone-deep rage many times in my life, if ever. I have zero experience with grinding, tormenting, humiliating oppression. By praying this psalm, I came face to face with the tiniest glimpse of what it’s like to be oppressed, and the fury it deserves.”

,

Turning the Other Cheek(s) (Luke 6:29) [A GUEST CARD TALK]

,
Turning the Other Cheek(s) (Luke 6:29) [A GUEST CARD TALK]

“We are not called to defeat the violence by participating in it. We are called to subvert the violence by exposing it. This means finding those on the margins, and standing in solidarity with them. When we stand side-by-side with those who are being oppressed, we force the oppressor to use their violence against all of us. This means we must leave the comfort of our own bubbles and entangle ourselves in the lives of those who are oppressed.”

Unbridled Horniness (Most of Song of Solomon) [A Guest Card Talk]

Unbridled Horniness (Most of Song of Solomon) [A Guest Card Talk]

“What the Bible is rather silent on is sexual relationships between two unmarried but committed and consenting people.  Except in Song of Solomon. Here, we have a love story in its many facets.  There is no judgement and no condemnation. And no guarantee of marriage.  And we don’t know what to do with it. And that’s a tragedy.”

,

Death by Lion for not Punching a Prophet (1 Kings 20:35-36) [A Guest Card Talk]

,
Death by Lion for not Punching a Prophet (1 Kings 20:35-36) [A Guest Card Talk]

The neat thing is we don't have to do what God's asking us to do. We don’t have to jump in a muddy river seven times, stroll around a city for seven days, or punch our friends in the face. We have free will. That's how God made us. 

,

Wide and Narrow Gates (Matthew 7:13-14) [Guest Card Talk]

,
Wide and Narrow Gates (Matthew 7:13-14) [Guest Card Talk]

"When I read this card I hear a guideline and see a lens through which to evaluate what I’m doing with my life,  in a broad, whole picture view, or within a given, specific situation. It helps me make better decisions, informed by my choice to adhere to Jesus’ teachings to the best of my ability. I don’t do this out of a fear of Hell or destruction, but out of love for life – others’ as well as my own. 

,

The Capable Wife and the Contentious Wife: “A quarrelsome and nagging wife” (Prv 21:19) & “A virtuous woman as defined by old Jewish men” (Prv 31) [A two-for-one Guest Card Talk]

,
The Capable Wife and the Contentious Wife: “A quarrelsome and nagging wife” (Prv 21:19) & “A virtuous woman as defined by old Jewish men” (Prv 31) [A two-for-one Guest Card Talk]

"These two wives are held up sort of in opposition. The bits of Proverbs from which they come are not back-to-back, but they’re part of an ongoing comparison between desirable qualities and undesirable. Sometimes these qualities are literally about a wife, sometimes they’re about the inner life of the man being addressed. In both cases, they present two women: Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly, the good wife and the bad wife."