Christ‘s rising to life is central to biblical faith not merely because it marks out his life as a unique moment in history but because in it God shows he is willing and able to breathe new life where there is currently death and disorder.
2 likes
Doubter's Guide to Jesus: An Introduction to the Man from Nazareth for Believers and Skeptics | 
Christ‘s rising to life is central to biblical faith not merely because it marks out his life as a unique moment in history but because in it God shows he is willing and able to breathe new life where there is currently death and disorder.
Those who know the Friend of Sinners will be a friend to sinners.
A central criterion of divine judgement, according to Jesus, is how we care for the destitute and exploited.
God‘s fiery concern for the oppressed fuels His judgement upon oppressors.
Only when followers of Christ are known for denying themselves and taking up their public “crosses” will they begin to look like the One they claim to represent.
Being the people of the messiah involves absolute, unconditional loyalty to the one whom God has anointed as the rallying point for the nations.
“......we might not yet possess all the resources of the “kingdom come” but we do know it‘s aims—to renew human life and put an end to evil—and these aims shape what we strive for here and now.”
What Jesus did within history was not a program that is meant to be enacted in the ongoing life of the church; it is rather a window into a future kingdom that is hoped for and proclaimed by the church.
The love of God, Jesus taught, inspires us to pursue love amidst the complexities of everyday life.
Following the Teacher will occasionally run counter to the world around us. It will at times be unpopular—a minority position.
While historians cannot say Jesus actually healed the sick, they can, and mostly do, say that Jesus did things that those around Him believed to be miraculous.