Presby-Musings

In preparation for the sermon that I preached last Sunday, I re-read, and referenced several books on life after death, heaven and the coming kingdom of God--what theologian N.T. Wright calls "life, after life after death."   I thought it would be helpful to offer a bibliography of sorts, along with a brief critique of the books I referenced in the event anyone out their in TV Land might want to do some extra reading on the topic.  The Heaven Promise: Engaging the Bible's Truth About Life to Come  by Scot McKnight (Waterbrook Press, 2015) This was one of the new books that I read over the course of the last couple of weeks.  McKnight is the author of over fifty books and is a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Illinois.  I found The Heaven Promise  to be an incredibly hopeful, accessible and comprehensive view of what the Bible actually says about heaven and life after death.  McKnight covers all of the big questions (Who gets t...

This week the inspiration for our Daily Devotions will be drawn from the sermon that I preached this past Sunday for All Saints' Day--a sermon on grief, loss, hope, life, heaven, Heaven and resurrection. If you would like to read the transcript of that sermon, you can click HERE .  The Scripture that we used as our guide was John chapter 11--the story of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead.   There is an old joke that I rather like.  A prominent politician and a pastor both die and arrive at the Pearly Gates at the same time.  As the politician approaches, St. Peter gestures and a huge red carpet is rolled out in front of him, angels suddenly appear and begin blowing trumpets.  Jesus comes to the gates and personally welcomes the politician with a warm embrace while hosts of angels cheer.  The whole retinue goes inside shouting and singing.   After the noise dies down, the pastor approaches and St. Peter simply says, "Welcome my son, come...

This week the inspiration for our Daily Devotions will be drawn from the sermon that I preached this past Sunday for All Saints' Day--a sermon on grief, loss, hope, life, heaven, Heaven and resurrection. If you would like to read the transcript of that sermon, you can click HERE .  The Scripture that we used as our guide was John chapter 11--the story of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead.   In his best-selling novel  The Five People You Meet In Heaven , author Mitch Albom paints a beautiful portrait of the mission of heaven itself--as a place where we are given the gift of clarity.  In heaven (or more accurately paradise), according to Albom's story, the whole of our lives suddenly makes sense.  We get the chance to see how all of the dots connect.   Eddie, the main character in the novel, has just died and enters paradise where he is met by the first of the five people he must speak to--a character known as The Blue Man.  Albom writes:...

This week the inspiration for our Daily Devotions will be drawn from the sermon that I preached this past Sunday for All Saints' Day--a sermon on grief, loss, hope, life, heaven, Heaven and resurrection. If you would like to read the transcript of that sermon, you can click  HERE .  The Scripture that we used as our guide was John chapter 11--the story of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead.   When I was young I wasn't that keen on going to heaven--at least the heaven that was described to me.  My Sunday school teachers, pastors and youth leaders would talk about heaven as a place with streets of gold, pristine furnishings, mansions, jewels everywhere...   It sounded kind of awful to me at the time.  It sounded like an old lady's parlor--the kind of place where you can't touch anything, and can only sit uncomfortably on a plastic covered sofa that you kept sliding off.   I was also told that in heaven all we would do is wor...

This week the inspiration for our Daily Devotions will be drawn from the sermon that I preached this past Sunday for All Saints' Day--a sermon on grief, loss, hope, life, heaven, Heaven and resurrection. If you would like to read the transcript of that sermon, you can click HERE .  The Scripture that we used as our guide was John chapter 11--the story of Jesus raising of Lazarus from the dead.   When I was a kid, I remember hearing a preacher give a sermon on the horrors of hell as opposed to the wonders of heaven.  His graphic description of hell included visions of eternal fire, souls in torment, the smell of sulphur in the air--descriptions straight out of Dante's Inferno.    Then he described what heaven was going to be like.  He painted a portrait of a place with streets of gold, precious gems embedded everywhere, a crystal sea, trees filled with every fruit imaginable...  It was pretty spectacular.   His question, at the end of ever...

This week I am preaching the conclusion to the four-part sermon series, "Ever After."  We've been exploring what the Bible has to say about what happens to us when we die. The sermon this week is entitled "Tickets" and deals with the difficult question: "Who gets to go to Heaven?" I have to say that this is a straight up three point sermon.  I'm kicking it old school here.  But it's not three points and a poem.  It's three points and some statistics, some scripture an illustration or two and some wisdom.  I couldn't find a poem. First the statistics... According to a recent ABC News poll, lots of people get to go to Heaven. 75% of Americans believe they are going to Heaven. A scant 21% think only Christians go to Heaven. 60% of Americans believe that both Christians and non-Christians go to Heaven. 80% of American women believe they are going to Heaven. 70% of American men believe they are going to Heaven. About those...

The following list of books with accompanying reviews represents some of the more challenging books on Heaven that I read in preparation for the sermons I have been preaching on the Afterlife.  By challenging I mean that they challenge the status quo, the traditional views of Heaven.  Some of them were written by non-Christians, and each of them contains conclusions (and speculations) that push the reader to reassess his/her preconceived notions about Heaven. Heaven:  Our Enduring Fascination With The Afterlife by Lisa Miller [Harper Collins, 2010] Lisa Miller is an award winning journalist in the field of religion.  She regularly has columns in Newsweek , and was formerly on staff at the Wall Street Journal  and The New Yorker .  Miller, who is Jewish, felt her fascination with the afterlife grow after the events of 9/11 and the subsequent work that she did in the new religious culture that emerged after that great tragedy.   Heaven  is the ...

As part of my research on Heaven these past couple of weeks, I have had the chance to read more than my fair share of books on the subject. Here is a short list of the more "popular" books about Heaven with brief reviews of each: Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story Of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. [Thomas Nelson, 2010] This New York Times Bestseller became a phenomenon, selling millions of copies and garnering a great deal of attention.  The book recounts the experiences of young Colton Burpo, who "died" and went to heaven during a severe illness.  Later, he began to relate his memories of the event to his parents, who were astounded by what they believed to be unexplainable details in his stories.  This is an easy read that could be finished in an afternoon.  I have to admit, I was slightly underwhelmed by this book.  I expected a great deal more out of it than I received, to be honest.  I can definit...

This guest post is from my good friend Fr. Christopher Decker, who serves two parishes in Louisiana in addition to being one of the creative engines behind the popular Catholic Underground. Fr. Decker and I slogged through Clinical Pastoral Education together many moons ago, and I would not have made it without his friendship, wit and deep faith.  I asked him to jot down some thoughts from the Catholic perspective about Hell & Purgatory to dovetail on my recent sermon on Hell last week.     Visit Catholic Underground .   Follow Catholic Underground on Twitter.   Visit Catholic Underground on Facebook.   Of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the one that often turns up an eyebrow is “The Fear of The Lord”. What is it? Doesn’t the Lord Himself say to the apostles who are startled at his appearance upon the stormy seas, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”? It would seem that this gift contradicts Jesus who wishes to be known and to make kno...