What is it like for the Kingsman to relate to Jesus, the King? It’s very much like what happens when a man finally stops wearing his own crown long enough to notice whose head it was always meant to sit on. A soldier can carry a great deal on borrowed authority for a long time […]
Read More KMCD 34: The Crown and the KingsmanReading: Ephesians 2:1-10 Context: What does Paul mean by being “dead in your transgressions and sins”? Two related realities help us to understand what Paul means by being dead in transgressions and sins. The first reality, linked to the spiritual poverty Jesus describes in the Beatitudes, is the state in which our condition before the […]
Read More WIWO: Ephesians – Episode 04: Dead to AliveWhat is it like for the Kingsman to relate to Jesus, the Crucified One? There’s a kind of silence that falls over a man when he finally stops explaining himself and simply stands still in front of what was done for him. That’s the silence the cross asks for before it asks for anything else. […]
Read More KMCD 33: The Cross and the KingsmanReading: Ephesians 1:15-23 Context: What prompted Paul to pray this prayer for the Ephesians? News reached a prison cell, and it turned straight into prayer. Paul opens with for this reason — pointing back to a report about the Ephesians: their faith in the Lord Jesus, their love for all the saints (v.15). This good […]
Read More WIWO: Ephesians – Episode 03: Paul’s Prayer for WisdomWhat is it like for the Kingsman to relate to Jesus, the Lamb of God? It’s very much like what happens when a man finally stops flinching at the cost of love because he’s seen exactly what it looked like, paid in full. Everything about how he gives himself to others changes once he’s stood […]
Read More KMCD 32: The Lamb and the KingsmanReading: Ephesians 1:1-14 Context: What does it mean that these blessings are “in the heavenly realms”? These blessings are already live – right now, in a realm I can’t see with my physical eyes. Paul uses “heavenly realms” as an active, present sphere. Here, Christ is already enthroned and where — remarkably — I already […]
Read More WIWO: Ephesians – Episode 02: Chosen and BlessedWhat is it like for the Kingsman to relate to Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah? It’s very much like what happens when a man already knows how the fight ends before he’s even walked into it. Everything about how he carries himself in the middle of it changes. That’s the position the […]
Read More KMCD 31: The Lion and the KingsmanContext: Ephesians – Who Wrote It, When, and Why It Matters Paul identifies himself as the author twice in the text (1:1, 3:1), and the early church overwhelmingly accepted his authorship. Paul wrote Ephesians from house arrest in Rome, somewhere around AD 60 to 62, making it one of four so-called “prison epistles” alongside Philippians, […]
Read More WIWO: Ephesians – Episode 01: Book OverviewHe did not remember lying down, only waking—thorns pressed light against his brow, not to wound but to mark. A Voice he could not see, only feel, said, “Rise. You have a castle. Come and see what has been built for you.” He almost laughed. His soul, as far as he’d ever known it, was […]
Read More KMCD 30: The Castle of the KingsmanFour C’s Questions for the Entire Gospel: Context: How has your understanding of first-century Judea and religious conflicts enhanced your reading of Mark? Jesus is interacting and engaging with a world that is divided politically and religiously. And in those divisions, people are looking to assert a degree of authority and to establish some hope […]
Read More WIWO: Mark – Episode 25: Review and Reflection
