by jakeowensby | Sep 29, 2023 | Care, Matthew 21:33-46, Moral Law, Secularism, Self-Care
Self-care has become a lucrative industry. We spend billions of dollars on oils, apps, and fitness programs that claim to enhance our physical, spiritual, and emotional wellness. Observing the results of these products and these techniques among her patients,...
by jakeowensby | Jun 30, 2023 | Matthew 11:16-30, Proper 9 A
They are community centers. Apartment buildings and restaurants. Abandoned, decaying shells. Former worshippers used to call them church. The authors of Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society tell us that up to 10,000 churches close each year in the United...
by jakeowensby | Mar 3, 2023 | 2 Lent A, John 3:1-17
Rollen Stewart’s name may not be familiar to you. But you’re probably aware of the trend he started: displaying “John 3:16” signs at sporting events. In the 1980’s the media referred to Stewart as Rainbow Man and alternatively as Rock’n Rollen. He’s a born-again...
by jakeowensby | Dec 16, 2022 | Faith and Science, Matthew 1:18-25, Secularism, Virgin Birth
My atheist phase lasted for about fifteen minutes one sunny, late-spring afternoon. Freshman year in college was coming to a close for me. There was a party at a nearby river. A couple of my friends and I were standing midstream on a large rock. Soaking up the sun,...
by jakeowensby | Jun 3, 2022 | Acts 2:1-21
This is part 4 of 4 in the series “Wondering about the Resurrection” Dave hurried up to me in the church parking lot. You could see from a distance that he was bursting at the seams to tell me something. Initially, I worried that this was about to be one of those...