Theology

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The Purchased & Plundered Self

by Tyler Dirks

PROTECTING SELF As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down […]

Samson Foreshadows Jesus!?

by Tyler Dirks

As you know …I believe that Rick Flair is Samson (son of Manoah) reincarnate. Just like Samson, Rick Flair is a libidinous hombre AND a blustering brawler! Samson & Rick are down-and-dirty ignominious fellows! …Like the Wu-Tang Clan! And as we all know, ‘Wu-Tang’ is an acronym for “Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game” (aka […]

2023 Sermon Series (Blurb)

by Tyler Dirks

The book of Judges reads like a series of bizarre dreams. The array of unusual stories is unparalleled. It is a saga of completely off-the-wall, utterly unexpected and shocking events. And the deeper you go into the narrative the more you realize that this dream is actually a nightmare. You come to find that the […]

2 Major Misconceptions

by Tyler Dirks

We have a maddening habit of popularizing, promoting, commodifying, and consumerizing EVERYTHING. We do this because we’re rampantly insecure, and we’re desperately compensating. We’re incessantly groping and clawing for ‘fulfillment,’ but we’re never full. We even attempted to popularize and commodify God in the flesh! …But He makes it impossible for us. Our popularity paradigm […]

The Supernatural Sign of Rain

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time a couple of guys named Paul and Barnabas traveled to a city called Lystra. They came across a crippled man. This guy was born crippled, he had never walked a day in his life. Paul told the guy to stand up; which is a really mean thing to say to a […]

יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל*repost

by Tyler Dirks

Let’s think about the motion picture Nacho Libre. The film is loosely based on the story of Fray Tormenta (“Friar Storm”, a.k.a. Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez), a real-life Mexican Catholic priest who had a 23-year career as a masked luchador and competed in order to support the orphanage he directed. There are a few things […]

an email from a former member

by Tyler Dirks

I recently received the following email from a former member of ecpc… “I am planning a dinner activity for my husband’s ordination reception. My hope is to have a slideshow playing with “trivia questions” that everyone getting ordained must know. Would you consider helping me?” – Former Member of ECPC Below you find the questions […]

notes on one john one

by Tyler Dirks

God has taken on flesh! This is inescapably scandalous and offensive, but it’s true. That which is from the beginning (i.e. God) has become human! All the gritty details of being embodied apply to God! Just think of all the regular maintenance your body requires: everyday you have to brush your teeth, digest food, use […]

Excerpts From The Gospel of Mark

by Tyler Dirks

I briskly traversed through the Gospel of Mark this morning. I normally progress ploddingly through the Γέγραπται, but sometimes it’s helpful to conduct a sprightly trot through a gospel in order to obtain a better sense of the surplus and sundry instances of Jesus offending people. It is absolutely vital that we come to grips […]

A Good Time

by Tyler Dirks

What’s your criteria for “a good time”? For example, on any given day, if you have an unexpected hour of free time, what would you need to do in order to endorse and esteem that hour as “time well spent”? Here’s one recommendation… Google quotes by GK Chesterton on goodreads, and ponder them. If you […]