“Reading from the End” (with Children) – Bradley Jersak
Hannah (an alias) is an undiscerning fan of R-rated literature. Granted, the exclusive focus of this compulsive vice is her daily dive into the Bible. For those who’ve actually read the Bible, this is of little comfort, given that she weighs in at just eight years old. It’s certainly alarming to her parents, who catch […]
Grace Creed & the so-called “Old Testament God” – Bradley Jersak
“THE OLD TESTAMENT GOD” A great part of my spiritual journey has been learning how to read Scripture in light of Jesus’s revelation of ‘a more Christlike God.’ More Christlike than what? More Christlike than I had reckoned, given the hellfire preaching of the revivalists I endured in my childhood. More Christlike than the literalist […]
Bald Prophets, Bear Attacks & Reading God’s Wrath – Brad Jersak with James Ihangwe
James Ihangwe Greetings! How are we to understand the young boys in the book of kings who mocked Elisha’s bald head and were mauled to death by bears. Certainly, this could not have come from the Lord. Elisha had cursed them in the name of the Lord when the bears came and mauled them. Bradley […]
Metamorphosis – Bradley Jersak
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.“ -1 CORINTHIANS 15:51 In St. Paul’s “resurrection chapter” (1 Corinthians 15), he develops his vision of human resurrection after the pattern of Christ. On the one hand, he indicates that after we pass from this life into the […]
Q&R: Reduce striving by “Lord, have mercy” prayers – Bradley Jersak
Question If I understand you correctly, you believe that a posture of receiving, surrender, and gratitude are ways that prayer can be more “effective.” Do you have conscious prayer practices that allow for you to be less in a place of striving and more in that place of receiving, surrender, and gratitude? Response This is […]
Creation Out of Nothing – Robin Parry
The following five videos are Robin Parry’s fantastic little series on Creation, Transcendence, Immanence, and Causation. Each teaching is brief and super clear. Perfect for discussion in home groups, youth groups, or catechism classes. But also wonderful for your own clarity and nourishment. Creation out of nothing. Part 1: overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEfWlZc_Qig This video sketches an […]
Mary’s Song – Bradley Jersak
Mary’s song, “the Magnificat,” is an offense that lays waste to every last idol and ideology, and in its scandalous beauty, towers as an immovable redwood after the fires have consumed the brittle brush of empires and revolutions. These lyrics are not whimsical aspirations of a fragile teen peasant—they are earthshaking prophecies laying down the […]
Beyond Virtues & Vices: Ephraim’s Lenten Prayer – Bradley Jersak
In the forty days leading up to Pascha (the Eastern Church’s Passover celebration of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection), we take up the daily discipline of praying “St. Ephraim’s Lenten Prayer.” As I write this post, we’re only just now preparing for the Nativity Feast but Ephraim is on my heart. Upon the recommendation of my […]
Q & R – “Freed Will” and Ultimate Redemption – Bradley Jersak
Question If we believe that in the end, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2) and that Christ meant it when he said, “If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32), what becomes of free will? Doesn’t our response […]
ON THE GREAT FLOOD (2021) – Bradley Jersak
ON THE GREAT FLOOD (2021) In retrospect, documentaries may call it ‘the Great Submersion’ or ‘the Sumas Prairie Deluge.’ It has already been identified as the most costly natural disaster in Canadian history. I’m referring to the catastrophic flooding that we have experienced around my city (Abbotsford, BC) through the final week of November 2021. […]