– By Ron Simkins Both John 12 and Mark 14 recount an event in which a woman responds to Jesus in a strange and unique way. Mary, who is from a rather affluent family that has adopted Jesus and his followers, pours perfume over Jesus head and feet—perfume that is worth “more than a year’s
Read More-By Ron Simkins (in response to an open letter to Glenn Beck by Jim Wallis: http://blog.sojo.net/2010/03/12/an-invitation-to-glenn-beck/) I did not hear him say it first hand, but apparently Glenn Beck recently made the claim that believers in Jesus who talk about social or economic justice are just using code words to express their Communist and Nazi beliefs.
Read More– By Ron Simkins, based on his teaching on March 7 Many of us want to experience God’s love in deeper ways, so we participate in a variety of personal and corporate activities to make that happen. I think, however, if we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love, we need
Read MoreBy Ron Simkins Often today we are presented with a forced choice about how we think about the Bible. Either it is “inerrant in every way” or “it is unreliable.” This is a very non-biblical forced choice that has developed in the modern world. Either choice undermines God’s real method and purpose in inspiring and
Read More– By Jim Linder, based on his teaching from February 14, 2010 I was surprised by the number of positive response I received to Sunday’s teaching, when I used the illustration comparing God to a GPS device. The Scripture reference was Isaiah 30.21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears
Read More– By Ron Simkins, based on his teaching February 7, 2010 In my teaching on Sunday, I suggested that Scriptural narratives are a good place to start if you’re looking for a way to “begin again” (or for the first time) to read the Bible. The stories in the Bible are fascinating and entertaining, but
Read MoreBy Ron Simkins, from his teaching on January 31, 2010 In my teaching this week, I suggested that any fellowship/church that is attempting to follow Jesus must be (1) a voluntary association for participation and ministry; (2) an open table welcoming and reaching out; (3) an organization/institution; (4) a community learning to apply doctrine/theology as
Read More– By Jim Linder, from his teaching at NCF on January 24 In last week’s teaching I made three points: 1) God has fallen in love with humanity, 2) We are invited to fall in love with God, and 3) Loving others—whether God or our neighbor—does cost us something. The cross is a sign of
Read More– By Ron Simkins, from his teaching at New Covenant on January 17, 2010 Jesus wants oneness and diversity in the body of Christ. Is there a reason to begin again in our efforts to achieve that? As a person who grew up with almost every possible prejudice deeply ingrained in my mind and heart
Read MoreA New Year presents hope of a new beginning, a fresh start, an opportunity to fulfill past shortcomings or enhance present conditions, or even plan for a better future. I have some thoughts about New Year resolutions for New Covenant for 2010. We are starting a new teaching series called A Reason to Begin Again.
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