Christian Living

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Startling

by Tyler Dirks

In my morning meeting with The Boss He said some stuff that really caught me off guard. Here are some of the things that startled me… “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” […]

I Wish You Would Bear With Me in a Little Foolishness

by Tyler Dirks

“I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness.” – Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) Here are some more quotations from Small (aka Paul)… “I feel a divine jealousy for you.” “I betrothed you to one Husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” “If someone offers y’all a different gospel […]

kingdom of man parables

by Tyler Dirks

I.R. “The kingdom of man is like a group of friends who went out to dinner to celebrate a special occasion. They were seated at a table of an unloved waitress. She took a long time to get their orders, hardly ever refilled their drinks, and never asked if they wanted dessert. Increasingly throughout the […]

A Bridegroom of Blood

by Tyler Dirks

E.O. “I’ve got your next sermon. Exodus 4:24-26. That’ll preach.” Bronco: E.O. “Okay, so I only actually texted you that because at first it made no sense to me…I was like”what the crap” .. and I guess I don’t fully grasp the significance and of circumcision in general-(the covenant-outward marking and separation- that they be […]

The Parable of “The Water Lovers”

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time there was a group of people in a boat floating down a lazy river. Everyone in the boat boasted of being “a water lover.” The boat dwellers were a complacent crowd, and many of them had never actually been in the water, but this did not in the least cause them […]

Boldness

by Tyler Dirks

Here’s a recent text exchange with a good friend of mine… My Friend: Does a lack of persecution in one’s life mean there is a lack of boldness for the gospel? Me: I’d say that boldness (as embodied by Jesus of Nazareth) is primarily a radical commitment to be weak, vulnerable, and ‘powerless.’ Boldness is […]

Uncomfortable

by Tyler Dirks

I was recently reading some ancient literature about Jesus of Nazareth, and to be perfectly honest there were some things that made me uncomfortable. For instance, Jesus of Nazareth was from NAZARETH! That place was seedy! It’s hard to imagine anything good ever emerging from Nazareth! And it seems like anyone from Nazareth should probably […]

WINCE

by Tyler Dirks

Once upon a time there were some very traditional churchy people watching Jesus. They winced as they saw Jesus sinning! Could that be right!? Jesus is God! …but there He was doing it all wrong! They saw that Jesus WAS NOT holding to their time-tested, cherished, conservative, traditions. So they asked Jesus, “Why don’t you […]

Intrigued

by Tyler Dirks

If I’m being perfectly honest …Jesus intrigues me. I find Him inescapably fascinating! I realize that many of you reading this right now would tell me that I must simply believe in Jesus, and regard Him as Right!; and to say that I’m intrigued with Him endangers orthodoxy and conventional submission. My fascination with Jesus […]

Intense!

by Tyler Dirks

I decided to schedule an afternoon appointment with Jesus, and we met up at Matthew 10 at 3p. It was intense. There’s really no way around it. See yourself. Here are some direct quotes: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as […]