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

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Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What we can learn from The Transfiguration and Other Mountain-Top Experiences

Peter's need for Ritalin (Mark 9:5-6) OR What we can learn from The Transfiguration and Other Mountain-Top Experiences

"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..."

Suffering mocking, flogging, chains, imprisonment, being stoned to death, sawn in half, killed by the sword...(Heb 11:36-38) [A Card Talk for All Saints' Day/ Halloween]

Suffering mocking, flogging, chains, imprisonment, being stoned to death, sawn in half, killed by the sword...(Heb 11:36-38) [A Card Talk for All Saints' Day/ Halloween]

"...we would like to submit that good Christians tend to read and apply this passage incorrectly because we do not fully understand what the “cloud of witnesses,” the heroes of the faith, really represent ... They aren’t examples, they are warnings."

Breaking your enemy's teeth, dissolving them like snail slime, aborting them like fetuses, & washing your feet in their blood. On Biblical Schadenfreude [A four for one Card Talk on Psalm 58 ]

Breaking your enemy's teeth, dissolving them like snail slime, aborting them like fetuses, & washing your feet in their blood. On Biblical Schadenfreude [A four for one Card Talk on Psalm 58 ]

Schadenfreude:  "enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others." Sometimes God wants to kick your enemies in the face on your behalf.

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

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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.